Northrop Grumman has taken delivery of a second prototype of the Fire Scout vertical take-off and landing unmanned air vehicle (VTUAV) from Schweizer Aircraft. The Fire Scout is based on the Schweizer 330 helicopter.
The new VTUAV will be used in risk-reduction flight testing, which will start at the end of the year, joining a manned prototype. The new prototype has dual-redundant avionics similar to the production system. The first engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) vehicle is expected to be delivered this month. EMD flight testing is due to start in February.
The Israeli air force is creating a new unmanned air vehicle (UAV) department to co-ordinate unmanned systems development. In parallel, the Israel defence ministry's weapons development department has created a dedicated UAV directorate.The new air force department is tasked with developing new operational modes and assessing future UAV requirements.
Source: Flight International
