VIDEO: Fire Scout passes sloped landing test | C4ISR & Networks | c4isrnet.com: The MQ-8C Fire Scout has passed its precision sloped landing tests that demonstrated the rotary-wing UAV's ability to land on the pitching deck of a ship.
The tests, conducted at Naval Base Ventura County, Point Mugu, Calif., used the sloped landing platform that certified the MQ-8B for sea-based operations, according to a Northrop Grumman announcement.
"The sloped takeoff and landing tests are designed to be as real as it gets to actually operating on a Navy ship," said CAPT Patrick Smith, Fire Scout program manager at Naval Air Systems Command. "The autonomous MQ-8C Fire Scout system is able to precisely track and understand the roll and pitch of the surface which resembles at-sea conditions."
