MQ-8C endurance demonstrated

POINT MUGU, Calif. – Northrop Grumman and the U.S. Navy demonstrated endurance capabilities with the MQ-8C Fire Scout unmanned helicopter. On a planned 10-plus hour flight and range out to 150 nautical miles flight from Naval Base Ventura County, Point Mugu, the MQ-8C Fire Scout achieved 11 hours with over an hour of fuel in reserve. The flight was part of a series of capability based tests used by the Navy to validate their concept of operations and previously tested performance parameters. The MQ-8C Fire Scout completed its developmental flight test program earlier this year and has operational assessment planned for later this year. The MQ-8C Fire Scout has accumulated over 513 flight hours and flown 353 sorties. (Source: Northrop Grumman, 08/25/15) Gulf Coast note: The MQ-8C is built in part in Moss Point, Miss. It's a larger version of the original Fire Scout, the MQ-8B, also built in part in Moss Point.