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| Science & Technology |
| Fire Scout Pilotless Chopper Lands on Moving Warship |
| 2006-01-19 |
| SD Business News - WOT good News; EFL, pic at link In a series of flight tests this week, a robotic helicopter developed in San Diego landed aboard a Navy warship while it was steaming off the Maryland coast near Patuxent River. The tests marked the first time an unmanned helicopter has landed aboard a moving Navy ship with no pilot controlling the aircraft, according to Northrop Grumman Corp. The Los Angeles defense contractor made the two Fire Scout helicopters used in the flight tests at its unmanned systems business in Rancho Bernardo. The landings demonstrate that robotic aircraft could still become a valuable weapon for the Navy, which has yet to embrace unmanned aircraft with the same enthusiasm as the Army and Air Force. The Predator unmanned plane, which was also developed in San Diego by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, has gained widespread praise for the role it has played in U.S. military operations in Iraq. Northrop Grumman's Global Hawk, also created in San Diego, has served more of a strategic role as a globe-girdling, high-altitude spy plane. In the same vein, the Fire Scout could prove to be a major new source of revenue for Northrop Grumman, which plans to build a fleet of Fire Scouts at a new plant near Moss Point, Miss. Fire Scout MQ-8b Company: Northrop Grumman Length folded: 22.87 feet Rotor diameter: 27.5 feet Height: 9.42 feet Gross weight: 3,150 pounds Speed: More than 144 mph Ceiling: 20,000 feet Flight time: More than 8 hours, with standard payload Flight time: More than 4 hours, with 500-pound payload |
| Posted by:Frank G |
| #1 Cool! Life is goooood. :-D |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2006-01-19 20:29 |