Bell Helicopter, Northrop Partner On Medium-Range Helo UAV Effort

摘要

Bell Helicopter and Northrop Grumman announced this week they have formed a partnership to build and demonstrate a medium-range unmanned helicopter by the end of this year.rnThe "Fire-X" effort will put the Northrop-built unmanned systems architecture used aboard its MQ-8B Fire Scout into an unmanned Bell 407, four-blade, single-engine helicopter. The system is intended to compete for the Navy's new medium-range, unmanned capability competition slated for next year, officials from both companies told reporters here on May 3.rnThe industry team plans to fly the aircraft, currently in the engineering and manufacturing development phase, in Yuma, AZ, by the end of the year, Mike Fuqua, Northrop's director of business development for tactical unmanned systems, told sister publication Inside the Navy this week at the Navy League's annual Sea-Air-Space conference and trade show.