Paul Lewis / Washington DC
Withdrawal of production funding for unmanned air vehicle means manufacturers must attract international interest
Northrop Grumman and Schweizer are pinning their hopes for keeping the RQ-8A Fire Scout programme alive on emerging international interest in the vertical take-off and landing tactical unmanned air vehicle (VTUAV).
This follows the recent decision by the US Navy and US Marine Corps not to fund production at the end of the on-going engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) phase.
The Japan Defence Agency has forwarded a request for information (RFI) to Northrop Grumman for the demonstration of a VTUAV to the Ground Self-Defence Force in 2005. Japan is initially looking to fund three air vehicles and two ground stations. "We intend to submit a response to the RFI and hope to follow through with a start to production," says a Northrop Grumman executive.
For Northrop Grumman and local partner Sumitomo the larger prize is the Japanese Maritime Self-Defence Force, which has a potential requirement for up to 60 shipboard UAV systems from 2006. With the dropping of Fire Scout funding in the recent US budget proposals, Northrop Grumman's focus is to keep the programme going in 2004-5.
Another emerging potential user is the German navy, which is looking for an alternative shipboard system to the EADS Seamos. EADS approached Northrop Grumman last month seeking data and a demonstration next year, and a licensing application is expected to be filed shortly. Germany requires up to 60 vehicles for naval reconnaissance and target acquisition.
Other interested parties include Israel and Spain.
Northrop Grumman and Schweizer are continuing to push the system domestically, proposing aerodynamic and rotor improvements to the 330 helicopter-based platform. Increasing Fire Scout's maximum take-off weight opens the door to augmenting its electro-optical/infrared sensor suite with a target acquisition radar and possibly arming the VTUAV.
Source: Flight International
