The Navy’s newest version of the unmanned Fire Scout helicopter has flown for the first time as the service continues to develop a system designed to provide longer endurance than its predecessor.
The MQ-8C Fire Scout lifted off at Naval Base Ventura County, Point Mugu, Calif. Thursday afternoon and flew for seven minutes to demonstrate its autonomous control systems, before a second nine-minute flight that reached an altitude of 50 feet.
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| The MQ-8C off the ground in Point Mugu, Photo by Northrop Grumman |
“First flight is a critical step in maturing the MQ-8C Fire Scout endurance upgrade before using the system operationally next year,” Capt. Patrick Smith, the Fire Scout program manager at Naval Air Systems Command, said in a statement released by prime contractor Northrop Grumman [NOC].
The MQ-8C is the follow-on to the smaller MQ-8B Fire Scout, which has deployed on Navy ships and in Afghanistan for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions. The Navy is currently in the process arming the MQ-8Bs.
“The systems we’ve developed to allow Fire Scout to operate from an air-capable ship have already amassed more than 10,000 flight hours with the MQ-8B variant,” Smith said. “This system’s evolution enhances how unmanned air systems will support maritime commanders.”
The MQ-8C is based on the 407 airframe built by Textron [TXT] subsidiary Bell Helicopter, and will be capable of 15 hours of flight time, including eight on station–twice that offered by the MQ-8Bs. The MQ-8Cs are scheduled to first be deployed next year. The first of the larger airframes was delivered to the Navy in July.