As you read in one of my posts last week, the race is on between between Boeing, Lockheed Martin/Kaman, and Northrop Grumman (if you missed it, you can click here).
Boeing and Lockheed Martin/Kaman have been in the news a lot as of late for the A160 and K-Max, respectively - specifically on the testing they've been doing at Dugway Proving Grounds. You just haven't heard too much on Northrop's Firescout.
Never to fear though, I just found this today, courtesy of Aviation Week:
Fire Scout Continues Testing With U.S. Army
By Bettina H. Chavanne
When Woody Allen said 80% of success is showing up, he could have been referring to Northrop Grumman’s Fire Scout. Despite the U.S. Army’s recent decision to eliminate the vertical-takeoff unmanned aerial vehicle (VTUAV) from its Brigade Combat Team Modernization (BCTM) program, Northrop Grumman continues to fly and test Fire Scout for and with the service.
The company has invested heavily in testing its corporate-owned aircraft in preparation for what it thought would be a 2014 fielding for the Army. The Army’s January notification to Congress that Fire Scout was “no longer required,” came just as Northrop Grumman was beginning a month-long demonstration of the aircraft’s capabilities for the service. Inadvertently, the Army Expeditionary Warrior Experiment (AEWE) at Ft. Benning, Ga., has become an adverti sement for just how suitable the Fire Scout is for the Army’s needs.
“The Army owns them,” says Lt. Gen. Michael Vane, referring to the eight Fire Scouts the service purchased. “I don’t blame [us] for continuing to figure out how to use them. They’re just expensive.” Vane is director of the Army Capabilities Integration Center (Arcic), and oversees the integration BCTM program elements. Neither he nor his civilian counterpart, Rickey Smith, director of Arcic-Forward, dispute the utility of Fire Scout or any unmanned vertical lift platform. The issue comes down to cost.
When Fire Scout was taken off the BCTM integration kit list, the Army noted, “the current Shadow [UAV] can meet future Army requirements with product improvements.” Smith says this is an example of a “resource-benefit assessment. How much can an upgraded Shadow do?” Fire Scout “will haul more, but what does it cost to operate? That’s what the assessment boils down to.”
AEWE not only allowed Northrop Grumman the opportunity to demonstrate a whole host of Fire Scout’s talents, but did so in a purely Army environment. This was not just a corporate test out at Yuma Proving Grounds in Arizona—although those tests have also proven the aircraft’s ability to interact easily with the Army’s One System-Remote Video Terminal. The Army’s OSRVT is a video and data system that allows soldiers to access live surveillance images from a UAV.
Company announcements heralding Fire Scout’s performance at AEWE, which wrapped up Feb. 11, poured in on an almost-weekly basis. In one instance, Fire Scout performed an autonomous cargo resupply mission, carrying two ruggedized containers attached to external pylons. Between cargo drop and landing, the aircraft used its electro-optical/infrared payload to practice reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition techniques (RSTA), something the Army has stressed as mission-critical.
On another flight, Fire Scout was equipped with Raytheon’s Mobile Ad hoc Interoperability Network Gateway (Maingate), a communications payload. It used Maingate, which is attached to an external pod, to relay communications among ground troops, who could then share real-time video, voice and data communications.
Finally, Fire Scout deployed an unmanned ground vehicle. The aircraft flew to a pre-planned landing point, the UGV was released and then Fire Scout hovered above to observe the vehicle and relay commands from the controller to the UGV. All the while, Fire Scout operated autonomously.
Fire Scout also has champions in Congress. The Army’s eight Fire Scouts currently reside in the home state of Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), who recently voiced his disappointment with the Army’s cancellation of its VTUAV effort. Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey promised Wicker he would investigate VTUAV options and have an answer by the end of April. The Army plans to release a long-term UAV strategy in mid-April, and it will surely contain some guidance related to vertical lift options.
“There are operational requirements that are emerging that we haven’t previously used UAVs for, and the principal one is cargo,” Vane says. “Whether or not Fire Scout can be a competitor for a potential cargo UAV remains to be seen. But we do see an emerging need.” The Marine Corps is busy evaluating just such a capability and Vane says the Army is keeping an eye on its sister service, noting there is the potential for a Joint Capabilities Technology Demonstration agreement on cargo UAVs in the future. A rotary wing capability “just seems to make the most sense,” Vane says. Northrop Grumman couldn’t agree more.
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