Fire Scout completes flight tests

SAN DIEGO - The Fire Scout unmanned helicopter recently completed flight tests aboard the USS McInerney, part of a series of evaluations leading to operational evaluation this fall. The tests took place last month off the coast of Mayport, Fla., and the total number of shipboard landings was pushed to 88 under a variety of conditions. The Fire Scout is slated to deploy aboard McInerney during its next counter-narcotics trafficking deployment later this year. (Source: Northrop via Globe Newswire, 08/10/09) Gulf Coast note: Fire Scouts are built in part in Moss Point, Miss.