MQ-8C completes Operational Assessment
The US Navy has successfully completed land-based operational assessment (OA) of the MQ-8C Fire Scout, Northrop Grumman announced on 1 December.
The OA was conducted at Naval Base Ventura County, Point Mugu, in November by the navy's Air Test and Evaluation Squadron VX-1.
During the three week OA flight test period, Fire Scout collected real time data points to validate system performance parameters and assess risk to future operational testing.
According to Northrop Grumman all aircraft systems successfully met VX-1 flight requirements. MQ-8C sensors and systems were tested at different altitudes and ranges to validate operational effectiveness. Integration of an improved ice detector system was also validated with an alert to the test team of icing during a flight. This system allowed for necessary altitude corrections by descending the helicopter until the indication cleared so that the mission could resume its target detection runs.
Capt Jeff Dodge, Fire Scout program manager, Naval Air Systems Command, said: ‘MQ-8C represents a significant capability improvement to the fleet. Testing has shown the system is meeting or exceeding our goals and the completion of this test event represents a major step on the road to fleet introduction.’
Leslie Smith, fire scout program director, Northrop Grumman, added: ‘The completion of land-based OA is once again validation of the incredible performance the Fire Scout system is capable of. As demonstrated in the test, Fire Scout's multi-INT capability and endurance, coupled with outstanding reliability are changing the way intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems are measured; we have significantly raised the bar.’
The MQ-8C programme is now preparing for milestone C in 2016.
Related Equipment in Defence Insight
More from Uncrewed Vehicles
-
![Cummings Aerospace showcases Hellhound loitering munition designed for US Army’s LASSO programme (video)]()
Cummings Aerospace showcases Hellhound loitering munition designed for US Army’s LASSO programme (video)
Cummings Aerospace presented its turbojet-powered Hellhound loitering munition at SOF Week 2025, offering a man-portable solution aligned with the US Army’s LASSO requirements.
-
![SOF Week 2025: PDW unveils attritable FPV drone for SOF operations at scale]()
SOF Week 2025: PDW unveils attritable FPV drone for SOF operations at scale
PDW has revealed its Attritable Multirotor First Person View drone at SOF Week 2025, offering special operations forces a low-cost, rapidly deployable platform for strike and ISR missions, inspired by battlefield lessons from Ukraine.
-
![SOF Week 2025: Teledyne FLIR white paper provides guidance on reusable loitering munitions]()
SOF Week 2025: Teledyne FLIR white paper provides guidance on reusable loitering munitions
Teledyne FLIR is highlighting the emerging requirements for 'recoverable and re-usable' loitering munitions across the contemporary operating environment during this week’s SOF Week conference in Tampa, Florida.
-
![SOF Week 2025: Kraken Technology group debuts K3 Scout USV in North America]()
SOF Week 2025: Kraken Technology group debuts K3 Scout USV in North America
High-performance maritime industry player Kraken Technology Group, based in the UK, has used the SOF Week conference in Tampa, Florida this week to debut its K3 Scout uncrewed surface vessel (USV) to the North American market.
-
![Palladyne AI and Red Cat to demonstrate capabilities for autonomous drone swarms to the US military]()
Palladyne AI and Red Cat to demonstrate capabilities for autonomous drone swarms to the US military
Red Cat and Palladyne AI recently conducted a cross-platform collaborative flight involving three diverse heterogeneous drones.
-
![Jammer resistant drone designs spark search for countermeasures]()
Jammer resistant drone designs spark search for countermeasures
The Russia-Ukraine conflict has driven another stage of evolution for drones and the counter measures to defend against them.
