Northrop Grumman MQ-8

Northrop Grumman MQ-8 Fire Scout
RQ-8B Fire Scout
Type:	Unmanned reconnaissance helicopter
Design country:	United States
Manufacturer:	Northrop Grumman Corporation
First flight:	December 18, 2006
Commissioning:	In flight testing
Production time:	In series production since 2008
Number of pieces:	30th

MQ-8B on approach to USS NASHVILLE (LPD 13)

The Northrop Grumman MQ-8 Fire Scout is an unmanned four - blade helicopter being developed for the United States Armed Forces in Rancho Bernardo, California . Northrop Grumman developed the Fire Scout to give the United States Navy (USN) and the United States Marine Corps additional reconnaissance and assault capabilities.

The original version developed from the civil American helicopter Schweizer S-333 was called the RQ-8A. A further developed version of it in August 2003, the RQ-8B, was developed by Northrop Grumman in-house after the USN rejected the RQ-8A. Because of its multipurpose capabilities, it has now been renamed the MQ-8B. A version of the RQ-8B developed for the United States Army was intended as the XM157 Class IV UAV for the Future Combat Systems . After Secretary of Defense Robert Gates canceled the FCS program in 2009, the XM157 project was finally discontinued in January 2010. The USN announced the first MQ-8B to be deployed aboard the USS McInerney in September 2009 .

description

The MQ-8B drone has been modified so that it can be quickly converted for different purposes. The current sensor equipment with a day and night vision capable tower and a laser range finder (LEM) remains an option. Instead, a Synthetic Aperture Radar or a SIGINT can be installed. The stub wings are not only used as buoyancy aids, weapons or emergency supplies up to a maximum of 317 kg can also be hung on them.

The first flight took place on December 18, 2006 in the Naval Air Station Patuxent River . In the meantime, the USN is also planning to use the MQ-8B drones on their new coastal ships ( Littoral Combat Ships ). The first flight with a payload called Brite Star in the form of a long-range multi-sensor target acquisition system followed on August 9, 2008. The final version for the Future Combat System should provide further increased performance, including an operational radius of up to 75 kilometers and take-off and landing ability in rough terrain.

On June 21, 2011, an MQ-8 operating from the USS Halyburton was shot down over Libya ( International Military Operation in Libya 2011 ). She should monitor the no-fly zone .

Further developments

On April 23, 2012, Northrop Grumman was commissioned to develop the MQ-8C. A Bell 407 is to be used as the flying platform , with avionics and data links being taken over from the existing B variant. The USN hopes that this will result in up to three times the flight time. The first flight took place on October 31, 2013 at Naval Base Ventura County.

On June 8, 2012, the USN placed an order with the company Raytheon Intelligence and Information System , which includes the migration of the drone control systems to the Linux operating system . A computer virus attack had previously caused problems in the system. The system change tries to reduce maintenance times and to increase the security of the affected MQ-8B systems. The Navy is investing 28 million US dollars over several years in converting to Linux. In 2012 alone, 5 million were earmarked for this.

Technical specifications

MQ-8B Fire Scout on RIAT

Parameter	RQ-8A data	MQ-8B data
Hull length	6.98 m	7.01 m
Rotor diameter	8.38 m
height	2.87 m
Payload	57 kg	272 kg
Max. Takeoff mass	approx. 1200 kg	1425 kg
Top speed	230 km / h
Service ceiling	approx. 6100 m
Duration of use	5 h	8 h
Engine	a Rolls-Royce / Allison 250-C20W , 186.3 kW	a Rolls-Royce / Allison 250-C20W, 253.5 kW
Armament	no	AGM-114 Hellfire (anti-tank missile) AGM-175 Griffin (air-to-surface missile) APKWS

See also

• Unmanned aerial vehicle
• Future Combat System
• Class I UAV

Web links

Commons : Northrop Grumman MQ-8  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Unmanned copter looks shipshape San Diego Union Tribune, January 19, 2006
• Manufacturer site
• US Army

Individual evidence

1. ^ On the Perch - MQ-8B Fire Scout . In: AIR International June 2013, p. 45
2. ↑ Flight Global: Northrop contracted to build new Fire Scout variant. Retrieved May 3, 2012 . 
3. ↑ FlightGlobal: MQ-8C Fire Scout completes first flight. Retrieved November 5, 2013 . 
4. ↑ Report: US Navy is converting unmanned drones to Linux. Heise-Open, June 10, 2012, accessed on December 6, 2012 .