The MQ-8C Fire Scout is a U.S. Navy shipborne uncrewed helicopter built by Northrop Grumman around the Bell 407 airframe. It extends Fire Scout from the smaller MQ-8B into a longer-endurance ISR and targeting-support aircraft with Leonardo's AN/ZPY-8 Osprey radar, Littoral Combat Ship deployments, and expeditionary basing demonstrations rather than a publicly documented armed-conflict record in this catalog.
The MQ-8C keeps Fire Scout's autonomous shipborne ISR role but shifts the air vehicle to a larger commercial-helicopter base. Navy and manufacturer sources frame the C model around longer endurance, heavier payload capacity, maritime radar, and sensor handoff to manned ships and aircraft rather than around onboard weapons.
Bell 407-based uncrewed helicopter adapted for Navy autonomous shipboard and shore-site operations.
Sources: Northrop Grumman Fire Scout; NAVAIR MQ-8C IOC.
Leonardo Osprey AN/ZPY-8 AESA radar supports target detection, tracking, weather detection, air-to-air targeting, and ground moving target indication modes.
Sources: NAVAIR MQ-8C radar deployment; Leonardo Osprey radar selection.
The aircraft has deployed from Littoral Combat Ships and demonstrated portable mission-control handoff for expeditionary shore operations.
Sources: NAVAIR EABO exercise; Northrop Grumman Indo-Pacific deployment.
The MQ-8C is the larger Bell 407-based branch of the Fire Scout family; the earlier MQ-8B is a smaller predecessor rather than a subvariant of the C model.
| Variant | Configuration | Designation notes |
|---|---|---|
| Fire-X | Bell 407-based demonstrator | Northrop Grumman introduced the Fire-X demonstrator before the Navy's MQ-8C designation, using a Bell 407 airframe to prove a larger autonomous helicopter path. Sources: Northrop Grumman Fire Scout |
| MQ-8C with AN/ZPY-8 radar | Operational radar-equipped configuration | NAVAIR reported the deployed MQ-8C aboard USS Milwaukee with the Leonardo Osprey AN/ZPY-8 radar, adding target identification, detection, tracking, and additional digital radar modes. Sources: NAVAIR MQ-8C radar deployment, Leonardo Osprey radar selection |
Public Navy and Northrop Grumman releases document MQ-8C deployments from Freedom-variant Littoral Combat Ships.
| Carrier | Carrier type | Carriage evidence |
|---|---|---|
 | Littoral Combat Ship | MQ-8C deployed aboard the Freedom-variant USS Milwaukee in the Caribbean and later aboard USS Jackson in the Indo-Pacific, giving LCS crews longer-endurance shipborne ISR&T coverage. Sources: NAVAIR MQ-8C radar deployment, SOUTHCOM USS Milwaukee return, Northrop Grumman Indo-Pacific deployment |
The first MQ-8C operational deployment paired the uncrewed helicopter with a manned MH-60S detachment for maritime surveillance work.
| Compatible item | Item type | Compatibility evidence |
|---|---|---|
 | Shipboard helicopter | NAVAIR said HSC-22 Detachment 5 would employ Fire Scout and an embarked MH-60S during USS Milwaukee's counter-narcotics deployment, using MQ-8C to identify targets of interest and refine surveillance data. Sources: NAVAIR MQ-8C radar deployment, SOUTHCOM USS Milwaukee return |
NAVAIR reported the MQ-8C's first flight at Naval Base Ventura County, Point Mugu, with a seven-minute first sortie and a second flight reaching 500 feet.
Sources: NAVAIR MQ-8C first flight
Leonardo announced that NAVAIR selected the Osprey AESA radar for MQ-8C testing and evaluation, with the Navy choosing a two-panel fit that provides a 240-degree instantaneous field of view.
Sources: Leonardo Osprey radar selection
The Navy declared MQ-8C initial operational capability, clearing the type for fleet operations and training after more than 1,500 flight hours and over 700 sorties.
Sources: NAVAIR MQ-8C IOC
NAVAIR reported MQ-8C deployment aboard USS Milwaukee with HSC-22 Detachment 5 for U.S. 4th Fleet counter-illicit-drug-trafficking missions.
Sources: NAVAIR MQ-8C radar deployment
Northrop Grumman reported MQ-8C's second operational deployment, and first Indo-Pacific deployment, aboard USS Jackson.
Sources: Northrop Grumman Indo-Pacific deployment
During Exercise Resolute Hunter, MQ-8C flew 23 hours, shifted control to a portable mission-control station on San Clemente Island, and demonstrated ship-to-shore expeditionary use.
Sources: NAVAIR EABO exercise, Northrop Grumman EABO exercise
DOT&E reported that the Navy initiated MQ-8C divestment in FY2024 and planned to complete it in FY2026, ending additional surface-warfare increment testing.
Sources: DOT&E FY2024 MQ-8C Annual Report
