A Fire Scout helicopter preparing to land on the USS Nashville

The RQ-8A Fire Scout is an unmanned, robotic helicopter under development in Rancho Bernardo, California for use by the United States armed forces. Northrop Grumman is developing the Fire Scout to provide the US Navy and Marine Corps with reconnaissance, situational awareness and precision targeting support. Image File history File links Fire_Scout_unmanned_helicopter. ... Image File history File links Fire_Scout_unmanned_helicopter. ... Three ships of the United States Navy (and two of the Confederate Navy) have been named USS Nashville in honor of the capital of Tennessee. ... Nickname: Americas Finest City Motto: Official website: http://www. ... The Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) is an aerospace and defense conglomerate that is the result of a 1994 merger between Northrop and Grumman. ... The United States Navy (USN) is the branch of the United States armed forces responsible for naval operations. ... United States Marine Corps Emblem The United States Marine Corps (USMC) is a branch of the U.S. military. ...

In August 2003, an enhanced version of the Fire Scout, RQ-8B, was selected as the Class IV UAV for the US Army's Future Combat Systems. This enhanced four-bladed main rotor version of the Fire Scout must meet 8 hour flight duration and 130lb payload specifications. It will give Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) capability at the brigade level. The Class IV UAV is an unmanned aerial vehicle UAV that will provide Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) capability at the brigade level for the United States Armys Future Combat Systems program. ... The Army is the branch of the United States armed forces which has primary responsibility for land-based military operations. ... Future Combat Systems (FCS) is the core building block of the US Army’s Future Force. ... Intelligence has several different meanings: Intelligence (trait) is the ability to solve problems Animal intelligence Artificial intelligence Intelligence (journal), a scientific journal dealing with intelligence and psychometrics Intelligence (information gathering), often including espionage Business intelligence Criminal intelligence Military intelligence This is a disambiguation page, a list of pages that otherwise... Surveillance is the monitoring of behavior. ... Mixed reconnaissance patrol of the Polish Home Army and the Soviet Red Army during Operation Tempest, 1944 Reconnaissance is the military term for the active gathering of information about an enemy, or other conditions, by physical observation. ... ISR stands for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance International Star Registry International Search Report (in patent law) Interrupt Service Routine. ...

In January of 2006, a Fire Scout landed aboard the U.S. Navy warship USS Nashville (LPD-13) while it was steaming off the coast of Maryland near the Patuxent River. This marked the first time an unmanned helicopter has landed aboard a moving U.S. Navy ship without a pilot controlling the aircraft. The USS Nashville, which is an amphibious transport ship, was maneuvering as fast as 17 mph in the tests. USS Nashville (LPD-13), a Cleveland-class amphibious transport dock, was the third ship of the United States Navy to be named for the city in Tennessee. ... Official language(s) None Capital Annapolis Largest city Baltimore Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 42nd 32,160 km² 145 km 400 km 21 37°53N to 39°43N 75°4W to 79°33W Population  - Total (2000)  - Density Ranked 19th 5,296,486 165... The Patuxent Wildlife Research Center. ...

Sources

• Unmanned copter looks shipshape San Diego Union Tribune, January 19, 2006
• Northrop's page on Fire Scout