Navy Helicopter Drone Completes First Round of Testing

[xchrom]

http://www.livescience.com/49259-navy-helicopter-drone-tests.html

?1419445530
The Navy's new MQ-8C completed 32 successful takeoffs and landings aboard the USS Jason Dunham.

Imagine trying to land a remote-controlled helicopter on top of a motorboat that's speeding across a lake. Now imagine that the helicopter is life size, the motorboat is a warship and the lake is the Atlantic Ocean. Navy pilots recently had to contend with just such a scenario as they tested the U.S. military's newest drone, the MQ-8C Fire Scout.

From a computer-filled control station aboard the USS Jason Dunham, the pilots successfully completed 32 takeoffs and landings with the new drone helicopter. The Navy conducted the tests, which ended yesterday (Dec. 23), to assess the drone's capabilities in different wind conditions, and to see how well it could land on a ship moving at varying speeds, according to Navy officials. In addition to landing and taking off, the Fire Scout also completed three test flights, presumably traveling out of view of the USS Dunham and then returning to the ship.

"The MQ-8C Fire Scout's flights from the USS Dunham represent a significant Navy milestone. This is the first sea-based flight of the MQ-8C, and the first time an unmanned helicopter has operated from a destroyer," Capt. Jeff Dodge, Fire Scout program manager with Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR), said in a statement. Destroyers are typically smaller than other ships from which drones may be flown, such as aircraft carriers.

[Cooley Hurd]

1. Isn't that a Bell Jet Ranger w/o the pilot?

[Abnredleg]

2. Yes, it is

They also trialed an unmanned Kamen Kmax in Afghanistan - used it to deliver supplies to remote posts.

[B Calm]

3. I want one!