US Navy Plans MQ-8C Test For Spring Written 6 December 2017
FlightGlobal
reports that the US Navy expects to conduct “initial operational test and evaluation” for the Northrop Grumman MQ-8C Fire Scout unmanned helicopter this spring, “with sea-based testing on the littoral combat ship to follow in the summer, says a US Navy programme manager.” Fire Scout is anticipated to provide surveillance for US Navy Littoral Combat Ships (LCS), and “will provide greater payload, range and endurance than its predecessor,” the MQ-8B. Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) capabilities have been developed for the MQ-8B, but were put on hold for the MQ-8C “due to magazine restrictions and mission needs for the fleet, Navy programme manager Capt Jeff Dodge says.” Dodge said that while an APKWS development plan for the MQ-8C “is scheduled to start a couple years from now, the priority is getting the sensors first, making sure the connectivity is there and then later getting into weapons on the Fire Scout.”
More Info (FlightGlobal)
More Info (FlightGlobal)