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The Northrop Grumman MQ-8 Fire Scout is an
unmanned An uncrewed vehicle or unmanned vehicle is a vehicle without a person on board. Uncrewed vehicles can either be under telerobotic control—remote controlled or remote guided vehicles—or they can be autonomously controlled—autonomous vehicl ...
autonomous
helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...
developed by
Northrop Grumman Northrop Grumman Corporation is an American multinational aerospace and defense technology company. With 90,000 employees and an annual revenue in excess of $30 billion, it is one of the world's largest weapons manufacturers and military techn ...
for use by the
United States Armed Forces The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...
. The Fire Scout is designed to provide reconnaissance,
situational awareness Situational awareness or situation awareness (SA) is the perception of environmental elements and events with respect to time or space, the comprehension of their meaning, and the projection of their future status. An alternative definition is tha ...
, aerial fire support and precision targeting support for ground, air and sea forces. The initial RQ-8A version was based on the
Schweizer 330 The Schweizer 330 and S333 are turbine-powered developments of the Schweizer 300 light piston-powered helicopter. As of 2007, only the Schweizer 333 remains in production. In February 2009, the 333 was rebranded as the Sikorsky S-333. In 2018 th ...
, while the enhanced MQ-8B was derived from the Schweizer 333. The larger MQ-8C Fire Scout variant is based on the
Bell 407 The Bell 407 is a four-blade, single-engine, civil utility helicopter. A derivative of the Bell 206L-4 LongRanger, the 407 uses the four-blade, soft-in-plane design rotor with composite hub developed for the United States Army's OH-58D Kiowa W ...
. As of February 2018, 23 MQ-8B variants were in service with the U.S. Navy.


Design and development


RQ-8A

As the US Navy was withdrawing its
RQ-2 Pioneer The AAI RQ-2 Pioneer is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that had been used by the United States Navy, Marine Corps, and Army, and deployed at sea and on land from 1986 until 2007. Initially tested aboard USS ''Iowa'', the RQ-2 Pioneer was placed ...
s from service, it began to seek a second generation
UAV An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft without any human pilot, crew, or passengers on board. UAVs are a component of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), which includes adding a ground-based controlle ...
. The Navy requirement specified a vertical takeoff & landing (
VTOL A vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft is one that can take off and land vertically without relying on a runway. This classification can include a variety of types of aircraft including helicopters as well as thrust-vectoring fixed-win ...
) aircraft, with a payload capacity of 90 kg (200 lb), a range of 125 miles (200 km), an endurance on station of three hours at an altitude of , and the ability to land on a ship in a wind. The UAV was to fly 190 hours before planned maintenance. There were three finalists in the competition, which was designated "VTOL-UAV" or "VTUAV".
Bell A bell is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be made by an inter ...
, Sikorsky, and a collaboration of
Teledyne Ryan The Ryan Aeronautical Company was founded by T. Claude Ryan in San Diego, California, in 1934. It became part of Teledyne in 1969, and of Northrop Grumman when the latter company purchased Ryan in 1999. Ryan built several historically and tec ...
and Schweizer Aircraft submitted designs. The Ryan-Schweizer UAV was selected as the winner in the spring of 2000. The ''RQ-8A Fire Scout'', as it was named, was a derivative of the Schweizer three-passenger, turbine powered '' 330SP'' helicopter, with a new fuselage, new fuel system, and UAV electronics and sensors. The initial prototype of the Fire Scout was piloted in initial tests, flying autonomously for the first time in January 2000. The Rolls-Royce 250-C20 turbine engine ran on
JP-8 JP-8, or JP8 (for "Jet Propellant 8") is a jet fuel, specified and used widely by the US military. It is specified by MIL-DTL-83133 and British Defence Standard 91-87, and similar to commercial aviation's Jet A-1, but with the addition of corrosi ...
and
JP-5 Jet fuel or aviation turbine fuel (ATF, also abbreviated avtur) is a type of aviation fuel designed for use in aircraft powered by gas-turbine engines. It is colorless to straw-colored in appearance. The most commonly used fuels for commercial av ...
jet fuel (the latter of which has a higher flashpoint and is considered safe for shipboard storage and use). The Fire Scout was to be fitted with a sensor ball turret that carries electro-optic and infrared cameras, and a laser range finder. It was to be controlled over a data link derived from the
Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk The Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk is a high-altitude, remotely-piloted surveillance aircraft of the 1990s–2020s. It was initially designed by Ryan Aeronautical (now part of Northrop Grumman), and known as Tier II+ during development. The ...
UAV, operating over a line of sight to a distance of 172 miles (280 km). The control system was to be fitted onto a ship, or could be carried on a
Humvee The High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV; colloquial: Humvee) is a family of light, four-wheel drive, military trucks and utility vehicles produced by AM General. It has largely supplanted the roles previously performed by the ori ...
light vehicle for US Marine service.


MQ-8B

Although progress on the project had been regarded as satisfactory, the Navy decided the Fire Scout didn't meet their needs after all, and cut funding for production in December 2001. However, the development program continued, and Northrop Grumman pitched a range of improved configurations to anyone who was interested. As it turned out, the U.S. Army was very interested, awarding a contract for seven improved ''RQ-8B'' evaluation machines in late 2003. In 2006, it was redesignated ''MQ-8B''. The MQ-8B features a four-blade main rotor, in contrast to the larger-diameter three-blade rotor of the RQ-8A, to reduce noise and improve lift capacity and performance. The four-blade rotor had already been evaluated on Fire Scout prototypes. They increase gross takeoff weight by , to with payloads of up to for short-range missions. The MQ-8B is long, wide, and tall. The MQ-8B is fitted with stub wings which serve both an aerodynamic purpose as well as an armament carriage location. Weapons to be carried include
Hellfire missile The AGM-114 Hellfire is an air-to-ground missile (AGM) first developed for anti-armor use, later developed for precision drone strikes against other target types, especially high-value targets. It was originally developed under the name '' Heli ...
s,
Viper Strike The GBU-44/B Viper Strike glide bomb was a GPS-aided laser-guided variant of the Northrop Grumman Brilliant Anti-Tank (BAT) munition which originally had a combination acoustic and infrared homing seeker. The system was initially intended for use ...
laser-guided Laser guidance directs a robotics system to a target position by means of a laser beam. The laser guidance of a robot is accomplished by projecting a laser light, image processing and communication to improve the accuracy of guidance. The key ide ...
glide weapons, and, in particular, pods carrying the
Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System The AGR-20 Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) is a design conversion of Hydra 70 unguided rockets with a laser guidance kit to turn them into precision-guided munitions (PGMs). APKWS is approximately one-third the cost and one-third ...
(APKWS), a laser-guided 70 mm (2.75 in) folding-fin rocket, which the Army saw as ideal for the modern battlefield. The Army was also interested in using the Fire Scout to carry up to of emergency supplies to troops in the field. The MQ-8B is being modified to permit rapid swap out of payload configurations. The current sensor configuration of a day/night turret with a laser target designator will remain an option. Alternate sensor payloads in consideration include a
TSAR Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East Slavs, East and South Slavs, South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''Caesar (title), caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" i ...
with Moving Target Indicator (MTI) capability, a multispectral sensor, a SIGINT module, the Target Acquisition Minefield Detection System (ASTAMIDS), and the Tactical Common Data Link (TCDL). The Army wanted the Fire Scout to operate as an element of an integrated ground sensor network as well. In April 2006, production on the flight test airframes was initiated at Northrop Grumman's Unmanned Systems production plant in
Moss Point, Mississippi Moss Point is a city in Jackson County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 12,147 in 2020, a decline from the figure of 13,704 in 2010. The Moss Point Historic District and several individual buildings are listed on the National Regi ...
. The first flight of the MQ-8B took place on 18 December 2006 at
Naval Air Station Patuxent River Naval Air Station Patuxent River , also known as NAS Pax River, is a United States naval air station located in St. Mary’s County, Maryland, on the Chesapeake Bay near the mouth of the Patuxent River. It is home to Headquarters, Naval Air S ...
. The Army interest revived Navy interest in the program, with the Navy ordering eight ''Sea Scout'' MQ-8B derivatives for evaluation. In January 2010, the Army terminated its involvement with the Fire Scout, contending that the
RQ-7 Shadow The AAI RQ-7 Shadow is an American unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) used by the United States Army, Australian Army, Swedish Army, Turkish Air Force and Italian Army for reconnaissance, surveillance, target acquisition and battle damage assessment ...
UAV could meet the Army's needs. In 2009, the Navy approved low-rate initial production. The MQ-8B complements the manned aviation detachments onboard Air Capable ships and is deployed along with a MH-60R HSM detachment or a MH-60S HSC detachment. With the planned addition of radar, AIS, and weapons, the MQ-8B shall have many capabilities of the manned MH-60R. It will give air detachments greater flexibility in meeting mission demands, and will free manned aircraft. On 23 September 2011,
Naval Air Systems Command The Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) provides materiel support for aircraft and airborne weapon systems for the United States Navy. It is one of the Echelon II Navy systems commands (SYSCOM), and was established in 1966 as the successor to the ...
awarded Northrop Grumman a $17 million contract to outfit the MQ-8B with the
Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System The AGR-20 Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) is a design conversion of Hydra 70 unguided rockets with a laser guidance kit to turn them into precision-guided munitions (PGMs). APKWS is approximately one-third the cost and one-third ...
laser-guided 70 mm rocket. By August 2013, the MQ-8B had completed 11 of 12 APKWS launches, with testing to be completed "shortly."Northrop close to completing Firescout weapon tests
- Flightglobal.com, 14 August 2013
By February 2016, the APKWS had been fielded on the MQ-8B. Due to its limited payload, the MQ-8B carries three tube rocket launchers. On 30 December 2012, the Navy issued an urgent order to install RDR-1700 maritime surveillance radars on nine MQ-8Bs. The RDR-1700 is an
X-band The X band is the designation for a band of frequencies in the microwave radio region of the electromagnetic spectrum. In some cases, such as in communication engineering, the frequency range of the X band is rather indefinitely set at approxi ...
synthetic aperture radar Synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) is a form of radar that is used to create two-dimensional images or three-dimensional reconstructions of objects, such as landscapes. SAR uses the motion of the radar antenna over a target region to provide fine ...
housed in a modified radome mounted on the helicopter's underside for 360-degree coverage, interfaced with the UAV and its control station. Detailed range is out to , with a max range of . The RDR-1700 can see through clouds and sandstorms and can perform terrain mapping or weather detection, and track 20 air or surface targets, determining a target's range, bearing, and velocity.Robochoppers Turned Into Maritime Recon Aircraft
- Strategypage.com, January 18, 2013
In January 2013, the Navy awarded a $33 million contract to Telephonics for the RDR-1700B+ radar, designated ''AN/ZPY-4(V)1''.Surveillance Radar Selected for Unmanned MQ-8B Fire Scouts
- Ainonline.com, 25 January 2013
The radar gives a beyond the horizon broad area search and track capability to track up to 200 targets and operates in surface search, terrain mapping,
emergency beacon An emergency locator beacon is a radio beacon, a portable battery powered radio transmitter, used to locate airplanes, vessels, and persons in distress and in need of immediate rescue. Various types of emergency locator beacons are carried by air ...
detection, and weather avoidance modes, supplementing the FLIR Systems Brite Star II electro-optical/infrared payload. It was first demonstrated on an MQ-8B on 7 May 2014. In 2017, the MQ-8B will receive a mine-detection sensor for use in littoral waters called the Coastal Battlefield Reconnaissance and Analysis (COBRA). The COBRA is designed to detect naval mines at a safe distance from a
Littoral Combat Ship The littoral combat ship (LCS) is either of two classes of relatively small surface vessels designed for operations near shore by the United States Navy. It was "envisioned to be a networked, agile, stealthy surface combatant capable of defeat ...
operating in coastal waters, and also has the capability to locate submarines through acoustic detection if they are on or near the surface. COBRA takes the place of the Fire Scout's usual EO/IR sensor.Navy to Start Competition for New Fire Scout Radar
- Nationaldefensemagazine.org, 17 December 2014


Operational history

In January 2006, an RQ-8A Fire Scout landed aboard the
amphibious transport ship An amphibious warfare ship (or amphib) is an amphibious vehicle warship employed to land and support ground forces, such as marines, on enemy territory during an amphibious assault. Specialized shipping can be divided into two types, most crud ...
while it was steaming off the coast of
Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
near the
Patuxent River The Patuxent River is a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay in the state of Maryland. There are three main river drainages for central Maryland: the Potomac River to the west passing through Washington, D.C., the Patapsco River to the northeast ...
. This marked the first time an unmanned helicopter has landed autonomously aboard a moving U.S. Navy ship without a pilot controlling the aircraft.Noris, Guy
"Born survivor - An in-depth look at the Northrop Grumman MQ-8B Fire Scout vertical take-off and landing UAV"
. ''Flight International'', 13 December 2006.
''Nashville'' was maneuvering as fast as in the tests. A total of 24 MQ-8Bs are to be deployed on the Navy's
littoral combat ship The littoral combat ship (LCS) is either of two classes of relatively small surface vessels designed for operations near shore by the United States Navy. It was "envisioned to be a networked, agile, stealthy surface combatant capable of defeat ...
s (LCS) from 2014 onwards. The Fire Scout significantly contributes to the LCS's primary mission roles of anti-submarine warfare, surface warfare and mine warfare. The ship's modular nature is complemented by the Fire Scout's own modular mission payloads. Due to changes in the LCS development schedule, the Navy conducted the Fire Scout Operational Evaluation (OpEval) aboard the
frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...
. On 10 December 2008, the Fire Scout first embarked aboard ''McInerney'' while in port for operational fit checks and ship integration testing. The Navy conducted Technical Evaluation on the Fire Scout on ''McInerney'' in late 2008 and Operational Evaluation in mid 2009. The Fire Scout was to reach
Initial Operating Capability Initial operating capability or initial operational capability (IOC) is the state achieved when a capability is available in its minimum usefully deployable form. The term is often used in government or military procurement. The United States D ...
soon after the evaluation."Northrop lifts Navy to new era for unmanned flight". ''Aerotech News and Review'', 22 December 2006. Flight tests of the Fire Scout took place in May 2009, these tests in areas of shipboard deck motion and wind envelope expansion and landings, including the use of the grid and harpoon system. During five days of testing, the ship/aircraft team compiled 19 flight hours during 12 flights, which included 54 landings, 37 of which were into the NATO standard grid. In September 2009, the Navy announced the first deployment of the MQ-8B aboard ''McInerney''. On 3 April 2010, an MQ-8 from ''McInerney'' detected a speedboat and a support vessel engaged in smuggling cocaine in the Eastern Pacific, allowing the ship to confiscate 60 kg of cocaine and detain multiple suspects.Fire Scout Scores First-Ever Drug Bust with McInerney
''Navi.mil'', 7 April 2010. Retrieved: 14 April 2010.
On 2 August 2010, an MQ-8 became unresponsive to commands during testing and entered restricted airspace around
Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
They were able to re-establish communications and regain control of the aircraft. In May 2011, three MQ-8s were deployed to northern Afghanistan for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) purposes. During the
2011 military intervention in Libya On 19 March 2011, a multi-state NATO-led coalition began a military intervention in Libya, to implement United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973, in response to events during the First Libyan Civil War. With ten votes in favour and five ...
, several Fire Scouts were operated on board the by HSL-42 Squadron as part of
Operation Unified Protector Operation Unified Protector was a NATO operation in 2011 enforcing United Nations Security Council resolutions 1970 and 1973 concerning the Libyan Civil War and adopted on 26 February and 17 March 2011, respectively. These resolutions imposed ...
. On 21 June 2011, a MQ-8 from ''Halyburton'' was shot down by pro- Gaddaffi forces during a reconnaissance mission. The U.S. Navy briefly grounded the MQ-8B after two aircraft crashed within a week. In the first incident, a Fire Scout reportedly crashed off the coast of Africa on 30 March after it was unable to land on the frigate following a surveillance mission. On 6 April 2012, another Fire Scout crashed in Afghanistan. An investigation into the crash in Afghanistan determined the cause was a faulty navigation system. The cause of the crash near ''Simpson'' remained less clear, tougher maintenance procedures were put in place to prevent faulty aircraft from going on-mission. The Fire Scout was back flying over Afghanistan by May, and returned to sea-based ISR "anti-piracy" operations by August. On 1 December 2012, returned from a five-month deployment supporting anti-piracy operations for the U.S. Africa Command. The Navy's fourth Fire Scout detachment logged over 500 flight hours and regularly maintained 12-hour days on station, switching to provide continuous support. One Fire Scout set a single-day record, providing ISR coverage for a 24-hour period in September 2012 over the course of 10 flights. On 31 March 2013, an MQ-8B deployed on completed its 600th deployed flight hour, during the Fire Scout's fifth sea-based deployment. It was the first time a Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC-22) deployed with a Fire Scout; previous deployments were conducted by the Helicopter Maritime Strike community. Between 2006 and 2013, the Fire Scout flew over 8,000 hours, over half in real-world operations. In June 2013, Helicopter Strike Maritime Squadron (HSM) 46, Det. 9 surpassed the MQ-8B's monthly flight record at sea aboard , flying for 333 flight hours during the helicopter's sixth deployment. In August 2013, the MQ-8B surpassed 5,000 flight hours in Afghanistan. In 28 months, Fire Scouts had accumulated 5,084 hours providing critical surveillance for U.S. and allied forces. Combined with testing and six at-sea deployments, the helicopter has over 10,000 flight hours supporting naval and ground forces. In late 2013, the Fire Scout ended its Afghanistan deployment mission and were shipped back to the US. MQ-8Bs will still be deployed on Naval frigates, and be integrated onto LCS. The Navy also ordered the Telephonics AN/ZPY-4 radar to expand surveillance capabilities. Twelve radars, including three spares, will be delivered by December 2014. The Navy will buy a total of 96 MQ-8B/C Fire Scouts.Fire Scout ends Afghan mission; future includes new variant, LCS work
- Militarytimes.com, August 16, 2013
From 25 April to 16 May 2014, the LCS conducted the future concept of operations (CONOPS) for manned and unmanned helicopters aboard littoral combat ships. Operations had the manned MH-60R working together with the unmanned MQ-8B. The demonstration included one MH-60R and one MQ-8B flying with the surface warfare (SUW) mission package installed, intended to provide fleet protection against small boats and asymmetric threats. The tests were to demonstrate manned and unmanned helicopter capabilities before their initial deployment together, which set sail on 14 November 2014. On 5 December 2014, a Navy MQ-8B successfully flew off of the
U.S. Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mul ...
cutter , for the first time. The Fire Scout was controlled from a control station located on ''Bertholf''. The Coast Guard intends to use the results of the demonstration to inform decisions on acquiring a UAS to enhance persistent maritime surveillance capabilities while lowering operational costs. On 16 October 2016, the LCS deployed to Singapore with two MQ-8B Fire Scouts, which for the first time had the Telephonics AN/ZPY-4(V)1 radar, giving them a beyond the horizon broad area search and track capability to track up to 200 targets with surface search, terrain mapping, emergency beacon detection, and weather avoidance modes. On 13 October 2018,
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
was reportedly cleared to purchase the MQ-8B variant, potentially making it the first export country.


Variants

;RQ-8A : ;RQ-8B : ;MQ-8B : Version has an 8-hour endurance with a 170 lb payload. ; MQ-8C Fire-X/Fire Scout : Improved variant using avionics from the MQ-8B with the larger
Bell 407 The Bell 407 is a four-blade, single-engine, civil utility helicopter. A derivative of the Bell 206L-4 LongRanger, the 407 uses the four-blade, soft-in-plane design rotor with composite hub developed for the United States Army's OH-58D Kiowa W ...
airframe.


Operators

; *
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
– 28 MQ-8Bs in service,Navy orders five more MQ-8Cs
- Flightglobal.com, April 4, 2014.
168 initially planned, reduced to 96 B- and C-models.


Specifications (MQ-8B)


See also


References

''This article contains material that originally came from the web articl

by Greg Goebel, which exists in the Public Domain.''


External links


MQ-8B Fire Scout page on northropgrumman.com


San Diego Union Tribune, January 19, 2006 {{DEFAULTSORT:MQ-08 Fire Scout Unmanned helicopters Unmanned aerial vehicles of the United States 2000s United States military reconnaissance aircraft Airborne military robots MQ-008 Fire Scout 2000s United States helicopters
Northrop Grumman MQ-8 Fire Scout The Northrop Grumman MQ-8 Fire Scout is an unmanned autonomous helicopter developed by Northrop Grumman for use by the United States Armed Forces. The Fire Scout is designed to provide reconnaissance, situational awareness, aerial fire support ...
aircraft first flown in 2000