Engine tests run on Army Fire Scout UAV

SAN DIEGO, May 23 (UPI) -- Engine tests have been completed on the MQ-8B unmanned aerial vehicle that is a component of the U.S. Army's ambitious Future Combat Systems.

Northrop Grumman said in a statement Tuesday the MQ-8B Fire Scout is now set to receive the mission avionics and sensors that will make it an airborne hunting dog that sniffs out and tracks enemy targets and then illuminates them with a laser rangefinder.

"The engine run is a significant milestone for the FCS program," Program Manager Joe Emerson said in San Diego. "It marks completion of final assembly of the initial manufacturing phase of the first Army Fire Scout.''

Engine tests will continue at the Northrop facility in Moss Point, Miss., as new Fire Scouts are turned out. The Navy version of the UAV, which is part of the Littoral Combat Ship program, has been flight tested since late last year.

The Fire Scout is basically a small, unmanned helicopter with a range of more than 100 miles and the capability to transmit real-time imagery, targeting data and battle damage assessments back to brigade-level U.S. commanders. The aircraft was designated the Class IV unmanned aerial system for the Future Combat Systems program.

Northrop is designing and testing the Fire Scout under a 10-year contract with Boeing and Science Applications International Corp., the lead systems integrators for the FCS program.