US Navy, PATUXENT RIVER: Northrop Grumman Unmanned Systems conducted a series of flight tests July 21 at the Yuma Proving Grounds, Yuma, Ariz., that culminated in two successful launches of a 2.75-inch Hydra-class rocket from the Fire Scout Vertical Takeoff Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (VTUAV).
Fire Scout is programmed to become operational in fiscal year '09 and deploy aboard the littoral combat ship. Recently the Fire Scout was re-designated from RQ-8B to MQ-8B, which reflects the aerial vehicle's multimission functionality.
The live-fire demonstrations were preceded by functional flight tests which focused on integration of the launcher-related hardware and software. The functional check flight was followed by a dry run and took place over the same flight path at identical altitudes the UAV would take once armed with a missile.
The UAV then performed two separate missile firings, with one missile on the starboard side for each firing run on the preprogrammed route. At the appropriate waypoint, with altitude approximately 1,850 feet and air speed 35 knots, the arm and fire commands were accepted and the missiles were successfully launched from the Fire Scout.
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