NAVAIR press release.
I wonder if this is a done deal. I had thought that the other UAV helicopter types might have a chance to bump the FireScout out of Navy service. This article indicates that is not the case.In the future, FRC East will repair approximately 60 of the Fire Scout’s components. Artisans are receiving hands-on training by working with the FST and Northrup Grumman engineers.
The Navy will field 121 Fire Scouts, once the platform is fully deployed. The inventory currently stands at seven – one trainer, two at Northrup Grumman for developmental testing, and four the Navy flies during operational evaluations.
The two MQ-8B’s at FRC East should be back in the Fleet about mid-June.
Firescout is a winning combination when coupled with a radar payload and EO/IR. It's tried and true setting records and making history. What other autonomous heli's are there? The Hummingbird A160T? That platform is overhyped and has a crash in the record books that tarnishes its feathers. We'll just have to see how well it performs in Afghanistan. It was more than likely selected for its vanity by the SOF weenies. If it looks good then it has to be good huh? What a concept...I'm betting Paris Hilton & Lindsey Lohan are their poster board girls at K2.
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