Drone control switching to Linux

The Navy awarded a $27.9 million contract to Raytheon Intelligence and Information Systems, Dulles, Va., to complete the installation of Linux ground control software for its fleet of unmanned helicopters. The Navy currently uses the Northrop Grumman-built MQ-8B Fire Scout, but it's also acquiring the larger MQ-8C variant. Both are built in part in Moss Point, Miss. Work on the ground control system will be done at the Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md., and is expected to be completed in February 2014, according to a DoD Wednesday release. (Source: GCAC, 06/10/12)