Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) prepares to move forward with selective demonstrations after conducting the first flight of its company-owned MQ-8B Fire Scout Vertical Unmanned Air System (VUAS) designated as "P6." The flight was conducted at the Webster Field Annex portion of Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland. P6 is part an on-going effort to expand upon the development capabilities of the MQ-8B Fire Scout. Near-term plans include integration and flights with a maritime radar, a second electro-optical/infrared payload, and various U.S. Army payloads. The P6 demonstration program will follow rigorous systems engineering processes to ensure success. Payload integration for all demonstrations will take place at Northrop Grumman's Unmanned Systems Development Center in San Diego. Demonstration flights will continue at Webster Field and at Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona.

The 20-minute first flight of P6 followed Fire Scout's routine Fully Autonomous Functional Flight (FAFF) mission plan of vehicle start, takeoff, flight, landing, and shutdown. Upon command, the vehicle launched and proceeded to hover at the first pre-designated waypoint. The vehicle transitioned to forward flight, climbed out, and moved through a series of waypoints. After capturing the final waypoint, the vehicle descended to a preprogrammed hover/hold position. Following the land command, the vehicle landed on the designated touchdown point. The successful mission concluded with an autonomous shutdown. The flight was commanded from a Tactical Control Station (TCS) with software produced by Raytheon Systems Corporation in Falls Church, Virginia. Other key Fire Scout industry team members and contributors include: Cubic Defense Applications, FLIR Systems, Inc., GE Fanuc, GE Aviation, Kearfott Inc., Lockheed Martin Corporation, Rockwell Collins, Kell-Strom, Crater Industries, Swift Engineering, Red Barn Machine, Rolls-Royce Corporation, Sierra Nevada Corporation and Schweizer Aircraft Corporation.