The U.S. Navy’s Fire Scout vertical takeoff and landing tactical unmanned aerial vehicle before a day of developmental flight tests at the Webster Field Annex of the Patuxent River Naval Air Station. The Fire Scout, developed by Northrop Grumman, is progressing through its engineering, manufacturing, and development cycle, and is scheduled to achieve Initial Operational Capability (IOC) in 2007. To date, the aircraft has flown over 80 sorties totaling over 65 flight hours including shipboard suitability and flight testing that was conducted last summer with the USS Denver (LPD-9).

photo by Kurt Lengfield