Fiscal 2014 is scheduled to mark several important milestones in the Navy's fielding of a vertical takeoff unmanned aerial vehicle (VTUAV). The MQ-8C, a new version of the Northrop Grumman-built Fire Scout VTUAY is scheduled to make its first flight, begin sea trials and begin its first deployment. The proven MQ-8B version is scheduled to make its first deployment onboard a Littoral Combat Ship (LCS). The first MQ-8C Fire Scout, built around a Bell 407 helicopter airframe rather than the smaller Schweitzer 333 airframe used by the MQ-8B, has been delivered to Naval Air Station Point Mugu, Calif., from which it will make its first flight in October, Capt. Patrick Smith, the Navy's Fire Scout program manager, said in an Aug. 13 briefing to reporters at the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International's Unmanned Systems 2013 conference in Washington.
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