17 mars 2021 | International, Aérospatial, Naval
Fire Scout Tested for Potential Anti-Sub Mission
Northrop Grumman is looking to add an anti-submarine mission to its Fire Scout unmanned helicopter, a company executive said. The potential upgrade — known as multistatic acoustic search — is a technology that uses a network of buoys to locate objects in the water, said Dan Redman, the company's Fire Scout maritime mission expansion lead. A test conducted last fall confirmed that a Fire Scout dropping a series of acoustic detection buoys would save time and manpower during submarine detection missions, he said. There are no existing Navy requirements for the capability, but as defense budgets decrease and submarine threats from Russia and China increase, the need for a more efficient way to detect enemy subs will continue to grow, Redman said. Both Moscow and Beijing have increased their submarine activity in the North Atlantic and Western Pacific, he added.