Fire Scout sets sail for Africa

PATUXENT RIVER, Md. | The MQ-8B Fire Scout, the Navy’s only unmanned aircraft to operate on land and at sea, departed Jan. 17 from Mayport, Fla., aboard USS Simpson (FFG 56) for a six-month deployment to western Africa. Personnel from Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron Light (HSL) 60 Detachment 4 and Northrop Grumman took Fire Scout on its third at-sea deployment aboard a guided missile frigate. Typically deployed as a complement to the manned H-60 helicopter, this is the Fire Scout’s first solo mission. “Fire Scout offers similar capabilities currently provided by the H-60,” said Capt. Patrick Smith, Fire Scout program manager. “It gives the ship and the detachment greater flexibility in meeting operational needs and frees manned aircraft to support other high-demand missions.” For the next six months, two Fire Scout air vehicles will support exercises off the west coast of Africa as part of the Africa Partnership Station (APS). The international initiative was developed by U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa to improve maritime safety and security in the region as part of U.S. Africa Command’s Security Cooperation program. “I am happy our team will help build partnership capacity of our allies, and increase the level of cooperation between them to improve […]
Fire Scout sets sail for Africa