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Industry has big hopes for Fire Scout UAV

The “flexibility” of the Northrop Grumman-built Fire Scout unmanned helicopter could see its mission sets expanded in the future from surface warfare, antisubmarine warfare and mine warfare to include special operations, humanitarian relief and other missions, an industry official said he hopes.

The MQ-8B Fire Scout vertical-takeoff-and-landing unmanned aerial vehicle is being designed to perform intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance for the Navy’s new Littoral Combat Ships’ three mission modules, designed for surface warfare, antisubmarine warfare and mine warfare. The drone can spend up to five hours on station at a range of 110 nautical miles with a 600-pound lift capacity. The system conducted its first flight in December 2006 at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md. The Fire Scout is more than 9 feet tall, weighs more than 3,000 pounds and can travel at speeds greater than 125 knots.

The Fire Scout’s first operational evaluation will take place next year, said Mike Fuqua, Northrop’s business development director for the drone. Speaking Wednesday at an industry conference in Washington, he said that commanders will decide on full production by fiscal 2009.

But the Fire Scout is not limited to the existing LCS requirements, Fuqua said. He said he sees the mission set “expanding” for the unmanned helicopter. Additional mission payloads could include “denied logistics” for special operations forces behind enemy lines. This concept involves using a Fire Scout to deliver supplies to troops in the field using Global Positioning System coordinates. When the drone landed, the troops would unload what they need and press a button to send the Fire Scout back to its ship or base. Medical supply, and even evacuations, could also be coordinated this way, Fuqua said.

“No one’s talked to us yet about bringing someone out [of the battlefield] yet,” he said, “but I’m sure it’s in the future.” Fuqua said the Fire Scout has enough power and onboard capacity to carry a person but wasn’t designed to transport personnel.

Moreover, contractors say they hope the Fire Scout could help aid maritime interdiction operations, humanitarian and disaster relief missions, and even fulfill some of the Coast Guard’s coastal patrol requirements, Fuqua said.

Weaponization is also in the drone’s future. Northrop and the Navy conducted the first live-fire test in 2005 and the MQ-8B has wing stubs built for mounting weapons. The ability to target and fire on swarming boat threats is especially appealing to the Navy, Fuqua argued.

The versatility of the Fire Scout platform includes the possibility of using the drone on other ships. The Navy has requirements for Fire Scout on LCS and, further down the line, on DDG-1000-class destroyers. Navy acquisition czar Delores Etter said Tuesday that Fire Scout could potentially be used on other ships.

Fuqua said that the Arleigh Burke-class destroyers are, in his opinion, the best ships to use Fire Scout because the drone complements the ships’ SH-60 Seahawk helicopters, he said.

“The Navy will never buy enough SH-60s,” he argued. “So when you’re protecting an expeditionary strike group, there’s a big benefit to having the [intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance] and targeting capabilities of Fire Scout.”

Northrop is working to “stimulate that interest” within the Navy to consider using the drone on other ships, according to Fuqua.

He said San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ships could possibly deploy Fire Scouts. He noted that Fire Scout will compete for the Marine Corps’ “Tier III” UAV platform in the 2010 timeframe.

“Fire Scout would do well basing onboard [LPD-17] — it would fit easily,” he said.