DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: U.S. DoD Awarded Contract To Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems, San Diego, Calif., For Operations And Maintenance Services In Support of MQ-8B Fire Scout
Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources U.S. Department of Defense No. 930-12 - November 28, 2012(NSI News Source Info) SINGAPORE - Novembe 29, 2012: Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems, San Diego, Calif., is being awarded a $15,010,161 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for operations and maintenance services in support of the MQ-8B Fire Scout.
Work will be performed in Afghanistan (90 percent), and Patuxent River, Md. (10 percent), and is expected to be completed in November 2013.
This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to FAR 6.302-1.
Contract funds in the amount of $1,500,000 will be obligated at time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year.
The remaining funding will be obligated on individual delivery orders as they are issued. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity (N00019-13-C-0018).
Northrop Grumman's Transformational Fire Scout Vertical Takeoff and Landing Tactical Unmanned Aerial Vehicle system provides unprecedented situation awareness and precision targeting support for U.S. Armed Forces of the future.
The MQ-8B Fire Scout has the ability to autonomously take off and land on any aviation-capable warship and at prepared and unprepared landing zones in proximity to the soldier in contact.
The U.S. Navy has selected Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) to produce the next-generation Fire Scout unmanned helicopter using the Bell 407 airframe. The new variant provides greater range, endurance and payload capacity to ship commander's intelligence-gathering efforts.
According to a U.S. Department of Defense news release on contract awards released April 23, the company will produce a total of eight Fire Scouts within an amount not to exceed $262 million. The Navy plans to purchase a total of 28 aircraft under a rapid development effort.
The Fire Scout endurance upgrade has been designated as the MQ-8C.
"Through our company-funded Fire-X demonstration effort we proved that using the mature unmanned systems architecture developed for the MQ-8B Fire Scout paired with the Bell 407 helicopter would provide greater capability efficiently and affordably," said Duke Dufresne, vice president and general manager for unmanned systems. "By using systems that have many years of development already invested in them we can meet the Navy's needs quickly."
Northrop Grumman is the prime contractor for the MQ-8C program. Major suppliers for new variant include Bell Helicopter and Rolls Royce.
Final assembly of the new Fire Scout variant will be completed at Northrop Grumman's Unmanned Systems Center in Moss Point, Miss.
Northrop Grumman is a leading global security company providing innovative systems, products and solutions in aerospace, electronics, information systems, and technical services to government and commercial customers worldwide. Please visit www.northropgrumman.com for more information.
*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources U.S. Department of Defense No. 930-12 - November 28, 2012
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