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The Northrop Grumman MQ-8 Fire Scout goes on its first deployment this year. The unmanned rotorcraft will be doing anti-piracy ops in the Middle East and intelligence ops in Afghanistan.
11 Fire Scouts have been delivered to the Navy, and 19 are on contract for 2011. The Navy plans to buy a total of 168 Fire Scouts, and deploy some on its new Littoral Combat Ships.
Armed? No, though there is a UAV adaptation of the 5 lb/24" Spike anti-tank missile the Navy Air Warfare Center's been working on....
General
Crew: 0
Payload: 600 lbs (272 kg)
Length: 23.95 ft (7.3 m)
Rotor diameter: 27.5 ft (8.4 m)
Height: 9.71 ft (2.9 m)
Empty weight: 2,073 lbs (940.3 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 3,150 lbs (1,430 kg)
Powerplant: 1× Rolls-Royce 250, 313 kw ()
Performance
Maximum speed: 115 knots (213 km/h)+
Cruise speed: 110 knots (200 km/h)
Combat radius: 110 nmi (203.7 km) plus 5+ hours on station
Endurance: 8 hours
Service ceiling: 20,000 ft (6,100 m)
11 Fire Scouts have been delivered to the Navy, and 19 are on contract for 2011. The Navy plans to buy a total of 168 Fire Scouts, and deploy some on its new Littoral Combat Ships.
Armed? No, though there is a UAV adaptation of the 5 lb/24" Spike anti-tank missile the Navy Air Warfare Center's been working on....
General
Crew: 0
Payload: 600 lbs (272 kg)
Length: 23.95 ft (7.3 m)
Rotor diameter: 27.5 ft (8.4 m)
Height: 9.71 ft (2.9 m)
Empty weight: 2,073 lbs (940.3 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 3,150 lbs (1,430 kg)
Powerplant: 1× Rolls-Royce 250, 313 kw ()
Performance
Maximum speed: 115 knots (213 km/h)+
Cruise speed: 110 knots (200 km/h)
Combat radius: 110 nmi (203.7 km) plus 5+ hours on station
Endurance: 8 hours
Service ceiling: 20,000 ft (6,100 m)