Northrop Grumman MQ-8 Fire Scout

Summary

Description

The Northrop Grumman MQ-8C Fire Scout, initially designated Fire-X during its developmental phase, was designed to provide reconnaissance, situational awareness, aerial fire support, and precision targeting support for ground, air, and sea forces. Northrop Grumman announced its intention in May 2010 to modify a Bell 407 helicopter with autonomous control systems derived from the MQ-8B, creating the Fire-X demonstrator. This unmanned aircraft first flew at Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona, on December 20, 2010, showcasing unmanned cargo resupply capabilities. In April 2012, the U.S. Navy awarded Northrop Grumman a $262.3 million contract for the production of the MQ-8C Fire Scout, encompassing two developmental and six low-rate initial production aircraft. The Navy integrated the Rolls-Royce 250-C47E engine into the MQ-8C in March 2013 to enhance power and fuel efficiency. The MQ-8C’s maiden flight occurred on October 31, 2013, at Naval Base Ventura County, utilizing autonomous controls.

The design of the MQ-8C Fire Scout incorporates elements from the Bell 407 helicopter airframe alongside avionics derived from the MQ-8B Fire Scout. It features autonomous take-off and landing capabilities. Propulsion is provided by the Rolls-Royce 250-C47E engine. The MQ-8C shares software, avionics architecture, payload interfaces, and ship ancillary equipment with the MQ-8B variant. The aircraft was retrofitted with the AN/ZPY-8 radar, designated Osprey 30, a lightweight Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) system offering full spherical coverage via fixed antenna panels mounted around the airframe.

Although initially planned for integration with the APKWS II guided rocket system, ship integration challenges and limitations on available weapons magazine space aboard Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) led to the cancellation of this capability. While the helicopter is physically capable of carrying 7-tube APKWS guided rocket pods, the constraints posed by the single weapons magazine on LCS, which is utilized for all shipboard munitions and provides limited capacity for embarking aircraft weapons, ultimately precluded its deployment in an offensive fire support role. The MQ-8C’s operational focus has therefore shifted towards delivering enhanced over-the-horizon targeting and surveillance data, leveraging its extended endurance and radar capabilities to support LCS operations in identifying and engaging targets. The aircraft possesses a payload capacity of approximately 318 kg (701 lb).

The MQ-8C Fire Scout achieved initial operational capability in June 2019. Subsequently, its operational role was refined, emphasizing the provision of targeting and surveillance data to facilitate over-the-horizon targeting for Littoral Combat Ships (LCS), capitalizing on its endurance and radar systems. Its utility as a weapons platform remains limited due to magazine capacity constraints on the LCS despite the inherent capability to carry guided rocket pods. As of January 2023, the U.S. Navy had procured 38 MQ-8Cs, with some allocated for operational deployment and others in storage. These aircraft are based on the West Coast and are operated by Helicopter Sea Combat Squadrons 21 and 23, primarily supporting the mine countermeasure (MCM) package of Independence-class LCS platforms. However, according to plans communicated in May 2024, the Navy intends to conclude operational employment of the MQ-8C by the end of Fiscal Year 2024, with full sundown of the type anticipated by the end of Fiscal Year 2026.

Main Variants:

• Fire-X: The initial demonstrator aircraft, based on a modified Bell 407 airframe incorporating autonomous controls, developed to validate unmanned cargo resupply capabilities.

• MQ-8C Fire Scout: The primary production configuration, derived from the Bell 407 airframe, characterized by enhanced endurance, range, and payload capacity compared to its MQ-8B predecessor.

Technical specifications

All operators

United States