Northrop Grumman's UAV Moves Closer to Production

Northrop Grumman Corporation conducted a design review of its MQ-8B Fire Scout unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for the U.S. Navy. The review moves the program closer to full-scale production and delivery of the vertical takeoff and landing UAV to the Navy. The review brought together the Northrop Grumman Fire Scout team, the Navy and U.S. Army program teams, Navy representatives for Littoral Combat Ship integration and members of the Army's Future Combat System program. Both services have been closely involved in the design to maximize commonality across the Fire Scout platforms. The technical review process covered every aspect of the UAV to ensure it meets all current and future requirements. Specifically, the review included air-vehicle design, avionics and payload architecture, communications and data links, ship- and land-based launch and recovery and the ability to integrate future payloads onto the aircraft.