Wide-Area Search Capability Will Expand Operational Utility of Vertical Takeoff and Landing Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

Northrop Grumman Corporation, under contract to the U.S. Navy, has selected Telephonics Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Griffon Corporation, Long Island, N.Y., to provide a multimode maritime radar system for the Navy’s MQ-8B Fire Scout vertical takeoff and landing tactical unmanned aerial vehicle.

A $33 million contract was awarded to provide the development, production, integration and testing of nine radar systems. The new Telephonics RDR-1700B+ radar will give the MQ-8B Fire Scout critical wide-area search and long-range imaging capability to complement the focused capabilities of its current electro-optical infrared payload.

Northrop Grumman is the Navy’s prime contractor for Fire Scout, the only vertical unmanned aerial system program of record. The Navy put the company under contract to assess and select a radar system that would best match the MQ-8B Fire Scout’s maritime operational requirements.

“This radar selection is a significant milestone for the Fire Scout program and represents a significant expansion in capability for our Navy customer,” said George Vardoulakis, vice president of tactical unmanned systems for Northrop Grumman’s Aerospace Systems sector. “Integrating this Telephonics radar with Fire Scout’s other sensors and systems will give the Navy unprecedented situational awareness in a tactical environment, and will significantly change how threats are addressed.”

“We are pleased to be partnered with Northrop Grumman in adding this essential operational capability to Fire Scout,” said Joseph Battaglia, Telephonics’ chief executive officer. “We’re looking forward to working with both Northrop Grumman and the Navy to integrate this new advanced radar system on the MQ-8B as soon as possible.”

Northrop Grumman press release