Can You tell What Helicopter the Navys New Drone is made from?
The Navy has gone through a lot of growth spurts for its Fire Scout Program. The program was born ten years ago to provide a remote control (unmanned) vertical takeoff & landing (VTOL) aircraft, with a payload capacity of 200 pounds, a range of 125 miles , an endurance on station of three hours at an altitude of 20,000 ft, and the ability to land on a ship in a 20-knot wind. The UAV was to fly 190 hours before planned maintenance.
They started off in 2002 with the RQ-8A, based on the Schweizer/Sikorsky 330, a 31-foot long, 1200-pound three person light helicopter. Then came the MQ-8B, based on the Sikorsky 333, and upgraded 330.
Now they have moved past that to the four-bladed, 41-foot long Bell Jet Ranger 407 (HH-57/OH-58) type helicopter. The much larger MQ-8C weighs 3 tons at max payload, has a 1,000 lb useful payload (Max hook capacity 2645 lbs), and has an endurance of up to 24 hours. It can be armed with AGM-175 Griffin missiles and APKWS II guided 70 mm rockets that the MQ-8B can carry, as well as heavier AGM-114 Hellfire missile. The Navy will buy a total of 96 Fire Scouts to deploy on both ships at sea and with expeditionary forces ashore.
And they have tested it in the air this week:
Point MUGU, Calif. (Oct. 31, 2013) An MQ-8C Fire Scout unmanned aerial vehicle takes off from Naval Base Ventura County at Point Mugu. The Navy’s newest variant of the Fire Scout unmanned helicopter completed its first day of flying Oct. 31 with two flights reaching 500 feet altitude. The MQ-8C air vehicle upgrade will provide longer endurance, range and greater payload capability than the MQ-8B. Initial operating capability for the MQ-8C is planned for 2016, with the potential for an early deployment in 2014. (U.S. Navy photo courtesy of Northrop Grumman/Released