The Drive: The MQ-8C Fire Scout unmanned helicopter was deployed aboard the ship for the first time
The US Navy has deployed a reconnaissance unmanned helicopter on board a ship for the first time. Northrop Grumman has announced the first deployment of the MQ-8C Fire Scout drone. This is reported by The Drive.
The unmanned helicopter has been based aboard the Milwaukee Coastal Zone Ship (LCS-5) since December. The helicopter received the Leonardo AN/ZPY-8 (Osprey) radar with an active phased array antenna (AFAR). This will allow the helicopter to perform reconnaissance beyond the radar horizon of the ship.
Work on disembodied Fire Scout scouts began in 2000. The unmanned helicopter was developed as a replacement for the RQ-2 Pioneer drone. The unmanned helicopter is based on the design of the Bell 407 civilian vehicle. Fire Scout can stay in the air for up to ten hours, and the helicopter's flight range exceeds 1,000 nautical miles (1,852 kilometers).
The publication notes that Northrop Grumman also tested the Bell 407, which is the basis of the drone, as a carrier of torpedoes and sonar buoys.
Earlier, the Polish edition of Defence24 reported on the main problem of Russian unmanned helicopters. The publication noted that the Russian Defense Ministry lacks correctly set priorities.
In December, it became known about the development of a modernized unmanned helicopter VM-V. The new version will be able to carry weapons.
