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Bell Helicopter contracted for additional Fire Scout aircraft

By James LaPorta
The operations officer of littoral combat ship USS Montgomery, Lt. Cmdr. Christopher Benton, observes as employees of Northrop Grumman conduct ground turns and telemetry tests of an MQ-8C Fire Scout while moored at Naval Base San Diego. Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Zachary Eshleman/U.S. Navy
The operations officer of littoral combat ship USS Montgomery, Lt. Cmdr. Christopher Benton, observes as employees of Northrop Grumman conduct ground turns and telemetry tests of an MQ-8C Fire Scout while moored at Naval Base San Diego. Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Zachary Eshleman/U.S. Navy

May 8 (UPI) -- The U.S. Navy awarded Bell Helicopter a contract for multiple commercial airframes in support of the MQ-8C Fire Scout aircraft.

The deal, announced Monday by the Department of Defense, is valued at more than $21.7 million. The contract is a modification to a previous Pentagon award under the terms of a indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract.

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The contract award from Naval Air Systems Command enables Bell Helicopter to increase the quantity of "Bell 407 variant commercial airframes through fiscal 2020 by seven in support of the MQ-8C Fire Scout unmanned air system program of record," the Defense Department said.

The Northrop Grumman-manufactured MQ-8 Fire Scout is an unmanned autonomous helicopter used for reconnaissance, aerial fire support and other naval missions.

Work on the contract will occur in Ozark, Ala., and is expected to be complete in December 2020.

No funds will be obligated to Bell Helicopter at time of award, the Pentagon said.

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