Operational Evaluation
August 10, 2009
The Northrop Grumman Corporation-developed (NYSE:NOC) MQ-8B Fire Scout Vertical Takeoff and Landing Tactical Unmanned Aircraft Vehicle (VTUAV) recently completed flight tests aboard the USS McInerney. This is part of a series of shipboard evaluations leading to Operational Evaluation (OpEval) scheduled for this fall.
The recent flight tests took place the weekend of July 10 off
the coast of Mayport, Fla. During the four days of wind envelope and
mission system testing, the ship/aircraft team pushed up the total
number of shipboard landings to 88, under a variety of shipboard deck
motion conditions and wind conditions, and including the use of the
grid and harpoon system. Additionally, command and control operations
with payload imagery transmission were conducted over 100 miles from
the ship.
"The recent flight test success aboard the USS McInerney
continue to highlight Fire Scout's maturity and status as a U.S. Navy
program of record," said Doug Fronius, Director of Tactical Unmanned
Systems for Northrop Grumman's Aerospace Systems sector.
The Fire Scout first embarked aboard the guided-missile frigate
USS McInerney, an Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate, while in port for
operational fit checks and ship integration testing on Dec. 10, 2008.
The Fire Scout is slated to deploy aboard USS McInerney during its next
counter-narcotics trafficking deployment later this year.
Northrop Grumman Corporation is a leading global security
company whose 120,000 employees provide innovative systems, products,
and solutions in aerospace, electronics, information systems,
shipbuilding and technical services to government and commercial
customers worldwide.
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Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC), UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles), USN (US Navy)
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