Northrop Grumman believes in a bright future for the MQ-8 Fire Scout unmanned helicopter, despite fleet cuts

The US Navy has completely abandoned the MQ-8B unmanned helicopter and reduced the MQ-8C drone fleet to eight units. Despite this, Northrop Grumman sees a bright future for UAVs.

Here's What We Know

The MQ-8 Fire Scout is Northrop Grumman's multi-purpose unmanned helicopter. The MQ-8B was based on the Schweizer 333 and the MQ-8C is based on the Bell 407. The aircraft is equipped with a Rolls-Royce 250-C47B engine rated at 606 kW and can reach a speed of 260 km/h. It has a range of 15 hours and a maximum flight altitude of 6.1 km.

The US Navy and Northrop Grumman are focused on expanding the role of the MQ-8. The drone was originally designed for reconnaissance, surveillance and reconnaissance missions. To that end, it is equipped with advanced infrared systems, an electro-optical Brite Star II payload and Leonardo Aperture radar.

The MQ-8 collects data and transmits it to the ship. The US Navy has now begun to focus on transferring information to the digital cloud, where it can be accessed by other units. In this regard, Northrop Grumman will develop a system that will allow an unmanned helicopter to share collected data with different ships and aerial platforms.

The company is exploring the use of satellite communications. Currently, communication with the MQ-8 can only be established within line-of-sight. This imposes limitations on the range of the unmanned helicopter (150 nautical miles / 278 km). Satellite communication can extend this to 600 nautical miles (1,111 km/h).

Source: Janes