Program Status: Canceled
IOC: 2008
First Flight: December 2006
Total Production: 175
Unitary Cost: USD$16 million
Total Cost: USD$2.8 billion
Also Known As: Class IV UAS and RQ-8B Fire Scout
Origin: United States of America
Contractor/s: Northrop Grumman* and Schweizer Aircraft
Description: In early 2004 the FCS lead systems integrators, Boeing and SAIC, selected Northrop-Grumman RQ-8B Fire Scout as the FCS Class IV Unmanned Aerial System (UAS). The FCS Class IV UAS will perform Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance, Targeting and Precision Strike missions.
The RQ-8B UAS will feature a new four-blade rotor, versus the three-blade rotor of A models, that will provide better flight characteristics and the capability to accommodate greater payloads. The flight endurance carrying a 130-pound (59 kg) payload will exceed eight hours. The maximum payload capacity could reach the 600-pound figure.
The weapon options related to the Class IV UAS will include laser guided APKWS rockets and Viper Strike precision munitions. The electronic package, ground control station, sensors and other equipment must be selected by FCS lead systems integrators.
Typically, the Class IV UAS (Fire Scout) will operate at 150 nautical miles from its ground station carrying a wide range of payloads depending on the mission requirement.
In 2005, the RQ-8B was re-designated as the MQ-8B Fire Scout to reflect its multi-mission capabilities which included the ability to fire weapons in addition to the Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities demonstrated on the RQ-8A model. The US Navy slated the MQ-8B UAV to be fielded with the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) beginning in 2009.
As of early 2006, Northrop-Grumman was producing 12 MQ-8B Fire Scout aircraft. Four for the US Navy and eight for the US Army.
In August 2006, the US Navy awarded Northrop-Grumman a $136 million modification contract to complete the Vertical Take-off and Landing Tactical Unmanned Air Vehicle (VTUAV) System Development and Demonstration (SDD) phase through 2008. A total of nine MQ-8B Navy Fire Scouts are planned to be built under the SDD phase. In February 2007, the US Navy ordered two more aircraft.
Parent system is the RQ-8 Fire Scout
Total Production: 28
Other Family Members: MQ-8C Fire Scout and RQ-8A Fire Scout
Transactions: There are 1 transactions involving 8 items for RQ-8 Fire Scout in 2012 view report
Applications:
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:: Reviews ::
:: Specifications ::
Crew: 0
Main Rotor Blades: 4
Number of Engines: 1
DimensionsHeight: 2.87 meter
Length: 6.95 meter
PerformanceCeiling: 6,100 meter (20,013 foot)
Max Range: 280 kilometer
SpeedTop Speed at High Altitude: 65 mps (234 kph)
TimeFlight Endurance: 8 hour (480 minute)
WeightPayload: 272 kilogram
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:: News ::
There are 42 news between
27 Jan 2004
and
8 Jan 2013
:: Operators ::
:: Related Equipment ::
:: Image Gallery ::
There are 10 images added between
25 Nov 2006
and
17 Aug 2011
:: Notes & Resources ::
Last Updated:
Saturday, February 2, 2013
(*) lead contractor
IOC: Initial Operating Capability
FOC: Full Operating Capability
CEP: Circular Error Probable
Comm: Commissioning Date
Meters (m) Kilometers (km) Nautic Miles (nm) Inch (in) Yard (yd)
Foot (ft) Millimeter (mm)
Pound (lb) Kilogram (kg) kN (KiloNewton) Ton (t)
Meters per Second (mps) Kilometers per Hour (kph) Knot (kt) Miles per
Hour (mph)
Liter (l) Galon (gl)
Year (yr) Minutes (min) Second (sec)
Shaft-Horse-Power (shp)
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