Northrop Grumman to Supply Next Generation Helicopter UAV’s

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Northrop Grumman will supply unmanned helicopters to the US Navy. The company has won a $108.1 million contract from the US department of defense for the procurement of 10 Fire Scout MQ-8C unmanned air systems.

According to Defenseworld.net, the MQ-8C Fire Scout is the Navy’s next generation unmanned helicopter. The MQ-8C Fire Scout’s airframe is based on the commercial Bell 407, a mature helicopter with more than 1,400 airframes produced and over 4 million flight hours.

The Fire Scout meets customer requirements for a ship-based and land-based unmanned systems. It also has the ability to autonomously take-off and land on any aviation-capable ship and from prepared and unprepared landing zones. This enhancement significantly increases range and endurance (more than double) and payload capacity (more than triple). The MQ-8C has completed developmental testing and is ready to deploy.

Work will be performed in various locations within the U.S., and is expected to be completed in August 2019.