Northrop Grumman MQ-8C Fire Scout

An MQ-8C Fire Scout unmanned aerial vehicle takes off from Naval Base Ventura County at Point Mugu on October 31^st, 2013.

The Northrop Grumman MQ-8C Fire Scout (known as the Fire-X during development) is an unmanned helicopter developed by Northrop Grumman for use by the United States Navy. The MQ-8C also has autonomous take-off and landing capability. It is designed to provide reconnaissance, situational awareness, aerial fire support and precision targeting support for ground, air and sea forces. The MQ-8C airframe is based on the Bell 407, while the avionics and other systems are developed from those used on the MQ-8B Fire Scout. It first flew in October 2013 and is currently in testing, with production was at one point scheduled to start in March 2016.

Users

• Japan
  • Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force x 0 (20 planned)
• United States
  • United States Navy x 0 (96 planned)

See Also

• Bell 407
• Northrop Grumman MQ-8 Fire Scout