A second airframe of the newest version of the unmanned Fire Scout MQ-8C helicopter has entered testing at the Navy’s Point Mugu base in California, manufacturer Northrop Grumman [NOC] recently said.
Testing began on the MQ-8C late last year and are being undertaken ahead of plans to begin flying the aircraft off ships this summer.
The MQ-8C is the follow-on to the smaller MQ-8B Fire Scout, which has deployed on Navy ships and in Afghanistan for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions. The Navy is currently in the process arming the MQ-8Bs.
The MQ-8C is based on the 407 airframe built by Textron [TXT] subsidiary Bell Helicopter, and will be capable of 15 hours of flight time, including eight on station–twice that offered by the MQ-8Bs. The first of the larger airframes was delivered to the Navy in July.