ARLINGTON, Va. — The newest version of the Navy’s Fire Scout UAV is being prepared for deployment to the Western Pacific, according to an official photograph.
An MQ-8C Fire Scout was depicted in a Dec. 22 official Navy photograph taken on the deck of Independence-class littoral combat ship USS Jackson (LCS 6) while in port in Apra Harbor, Guam. The caption stated the Jackson was part of Destroyer Squadron Seven “on a rotational deployment in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operation to enhance interoperability with partners and serve as a ready-response force in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific region.”
The MQ-8C in the photograph was going through predeployment functional ground checks for a detachment of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 23 — based at Naval Air Station North Island, California — that will operate the MQ-8C from the USS Jackson.
The MQ-8C, which achieved initial operational capability in June 2019, is an upgrade to the Fire Scout System mainly in that it uses a Bell 407 airframe, which is larger than the earlier-design MQ-8B’s airframe and equipped with more powerful engines, thus having a greater payload and endurance, up to 12 hours on station.
The MQ-8C can carry the ZPY-8 search radar or an electro-optical/infrared sensor and uses the same ground control station and the MQ-8B. The Navy plans to add more capability in the form of Link 16 data link, passive targeting, and a mine-countermeasures payload.
Northrop Grumman was under contract to deliver 38 MQ-8Cs, all of which have been delivered. The company has delivered 30 of the earlier MQ-8B version.
Editor’s note: This article has been updated and corrected from a previous version.
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