Thu, Feb 13, 2003
Northrop Grumman Corporation's Integrated Systems
sector continued its successful envelope expansion of the US Navy
Fire Scout vertical takeoff and landing tactical unmanned system
with a four-hour mission Feb. 8, the longest flight test to date.
Northrop Grumman now has conducted more than 35 flights in the
ongoing test demonstrations since May 2002. The latest mission
demonstrated fully autonomous operations from engine start through
takeoff, waypoint navigation, approach and landing, followed by
engine shutdown. Flights are conducted at the Webster Field annex
of Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md.
During the mission, which was operated from the Navy ground
control station, the tactical control datalink was used to uplink
payload command and control and to downlink imagery. The ARC-210
datalink was used for air vehicle command and control. The ability
of the operator to redirect the air vehicle in flight also was
demonstrated as planned. Throughout the mission, the Fire Scout air
vehicle successfully demonstrated three loiter patterns, 20 loiters
and 60 waypoints under autonomous navigation.
The Fire Scout payload, supplied by Northrop Grumman's
Electronic Systems sector, Baltimore, Md., operated throughout the
mission. The payload consists of electro-optical and infrared
sensors and a laser designator/rangefinder, which provide
intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance imagery and data.
The Fire Scout's communications suite is designed
to allow simultaneous voice/data relay much farther than the "line
of sight" limits of current systems. This communications relay
suite is part of the standard air vehicle configuration, and does
not reduce the available capacity for primary mission payloads.
The Fire Scout system is in development and low-rate initial
production by Northrop Grumman as a force multiplier for Navy
forces at sea and Marine Corps forces ashore. Fire Scout can
operate up to 20,000 feet, above deployed Marines and provide the
capability to watch for threats within 150 nautical miles of the
ground control station. The system can direct Navy and Marine
weapons accurately to the target with precise target location
coordinates or the laser designator.
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