The Navy’s newest variant of the Fire Scout unmanned helicopter completed its first day of flying Oct. 31.
At 12:05 p.m. the MQ-8C Fire Scout took off and flew for seven minutes in restricted airspace to validate the autonomous control systems. The second flight that took off at 2:39 p.m. was also flown in a pattern around the airfield, reaching an altitude of 500 feet.
The MQ-8C air vehicle upgrade will provide longer endurance, range and greater payload capability than the MQ-8B.
The MQ-8C is a larger air vehicle, has a range of 150 nautical miles and a payload capacity of more than 700 pounds.
The MQ-8Cs will conduct initial shipboard testing on guided-missile destroyers (DDG)-class ships, but the program is looking into supporting littoral combat ship (LCS) missions. The Navy will continue to use the MQ-8B as it phases in the MQ-8C.
Initial operating capability for the MQ-8C is planned for 2016, with a potential for early deployment in 2014.
navair
No comments:
Post a Comment