Launching a new era: Navy creates 1st unmanned helicopter unit

New definition of pilot? Enlisted sailors will operate drones


A Fire Scout lands on the frigate McInerney. US Navy

Written by Jeanette Steele
5:21 p.m., Sept. 9, 2012
Also of interest



Ushering in a new era, the Navy next month in Coronado will launch its first unmanned helicopter squadron, which will train current pilots and enlisted non-pilots to fly the up to 6,000-lb. drones that may eventually claim a parking spot on every Navy ship.

The Navy is using helicopters more often -- saying they multitask better than an airplane -- and now it is cementing its commitment to the unmanned version.


The new MQ-8C Fire Scout model will have the same airframe as the Fire-X. — Chad Slattery

“It’s an exciting time for naval aviation. It’ll be interesting to see where it all goes. It’s definitely the path forward,” said Capt. Frank Harrison, a senior helicopter pilot who is leading the fleet integration team for unmanned helicopters.

“I think aviators are pretty good at adapting. So I think these guys will ace this. And there will be young enlisted studs getting a piece of the action and having a ball doing that.”


Northrop Grumman is in negotiations with the government to upgrade its current version of the MQ-8B Fire Scout unmanned helicopter. — Northrop Grumman

Aircraft won’t hit the tarmac at North Island Naval Air Station until 2014. At that point, San Diegans will see the MQ-8C Fire Scout, a newer, bigger version of the 6-year-old Northrop Grumman Fire Scout designed in Rancho Bernardo.

The update is being developed to fly longer and carry cargo. The Navy is still negotiating the price for those with Northrop Grumman, said a spokeswoman at Naval Air Systems Command in Patuxent River, Md.

The squadron will also train people to fly the MQ-8B Fire Scout, the earlier $10 million version of the Northrop Grumman vehicle that is about the size of a news helicopter. Those craft will be stored in Ventura County at Point Mugu.

Like the other U.S. military services, the Navy is embracing drones in a major way after the unmanned aircrafts have proven their worth for surveillance and firepower in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Navy has tested the Fire Scout on frigates deploying from Mayport, Fla. The Navy is also developing an unmanned jet that will eventually launch from an aircraft carrier.

Now, the focus is shifting to San Diego.

The North Island squadron, to be called the HUQ-1 Hydras, will operate the larger MQ-8C drones off of warships such as destroyers and frigates. Nine units from the squadron will be available to dispatch with these vessels on regular six or seven-month deployments.

Pilots trained at the squadron also will fly smaller MQ-8B drones off of the Navy’s new littoral combat ships.

That ship class is a new, high-tech addition to the Navy that was designed from the keel up to incorporate drones. Up to 16 LCS will be dispatched to San Diego. Aviators who serve on littorals will be traditional MH-60 helicopter pilots who have the added job of flying drones while aboard ship.

As many as 28 MQ-8C Fire Scouts will belong to the North Island squadron, which will be the Navy’s entire inventory of that version. Over time, the Navy intends to purchase up to 168 MQ-8Bs fleetwide, a Naval Air Systems Command spokeswoman said.

The main task of these small craft will be reconnaissance and intelligence gathering, Harrison said. For instance, if a Navy ship picks up an unknown vessel on radar, the skipper can dispatch a drone to read the boat’s name with its infrared camera.

The lighter drone burns less gas and therefore can stay in the air longer than a traditional heavier helicopter, for which the fatigue of the crew also limits the length of a mission.

Harrison said he’s not versed on plans to arm the Fire Scouts.
One of their fixed-wing counterparts, the Predator flown by the Air Force, has been carrying out air strikes in Afghanistan for several years.

But that craft needs an airport with a runway to take off and land.

Naval historian and analyst Norman Friedman said it’s possible the Navy could put Hellfire missiles on the Fire Scout, or other weapons. Also, the still-developing unmanned carrier jet, the X-47B, will be designed to carry arms.

“Supposing the war on terror continues for a long time, and people don’t accept us in their countries for basing,” said Friedman, author of the 2010 book “Unmanned Combat Air Vehicles: A New Kind of Carrier Aviation.”

“In that case whatever is going to knock out theater operators in that war, is going to have to come from the sea.”

It’s a new era for the Navy, in regard to what the term “pilot” means. For the first time, enlisted people will be flying large aerial vehicles – mostly the province of officers throughout the 100-year history of naval aviation.

In contrast, the Air Force only allows officers to pilot its drones, according to people familiar with the operation.

The Navy’s new “pilot” sailors – probably first-class petty officers and above, Harrison said – will receive a five to six-month training course.
The officers who are already helicopter pilots will get a shorter version, only five or six weeks.

In what may be viewed as a relief for some San Diegans – or a missed opportunity for others – the Navy will not fly these unmanned helicopters off of the North Island tarmac. The crafts will be trucked to San Diego Naval based to be craned aboard ships before deployment.

Harrison said it’s a safety precaution. These aircraft “aren’t bumper cars,” he said.

“San Diego is an extremely busy piece of air space,” he said. “So just from a risk-management perspective, it probably just makes more sense not to fly them here, if you don’t have to.”

Launching a new era: Navy creates 1st unmanned helicopter unit | UTSanDiego.com