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US Navy Littoral Combat Ship USS Coronado deploys with next-gen UAV controls from Raytheon

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Naval Forces News - USA
 
 
 
US Navy Littoral Combat Ship USS Coronado deploys with next-gen UAV controls from Raytheon
 
Raytheon Company and the U.S. Navy's Naval Air Systems Command have deployed advanced mission control for the MQ-8 Fire Scout, an unmanned helicopter, aboard the Littoral Combat Ship USS Coronado, which is now underway. Navy control hardware and Raytheon control software were combined for robust, flexible command and control of Fire Scout missions in littoral waters.
     
Raytheon Company and the U.S. Navy's Naval Air Systems Command have deployed advanced mission control for the MQ-8 Fire Scout, an unmanned helicopter, aboard the Littoral Combat Ship USS Coronado, which is now underway. Navy control hardware and Raytheon control software were combined for robust, flexible command and control of Fire Scout missions in littoral waters.
An MQ-8B Fire Scout assigned to Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 22 Detachment 5 prepares to land aboard USS Robert G. Bradley for a "hot pump" and re-launch while conducting maritime intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) operations in the Mediterranean Sea. (U.S. Navy photo)
     
The USS Coronado is one of the Navy's newest Littoral Combat Ships, designed to operate close to shorelines. Coronado's deployment of Fire Scout extends the fleet's situational awareness.

"Raytheon's UAV ground controls help support Navy missions without putting sailors' lives at risk," said Todd Probert, vice president of Mission Support and Modernization at Raytheon IIS. "Our innovative technology is helping the U.S. military evolve standards of performance and reliability as they accomplish their critical missions more efficiently and effectively."
     
The Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) Mission Modules (MM) program successfully completed the first Structural Test Firing (STF) of the 30mm gun mission module aboard USS Coronado (LCS 4) off the coast of Southern California April 30. The purpose of the STF is to challenge the ship in the most severe blast conditions of the weapon's fire. STF is a total ship test involving live weapons fire and is required for each ship class or variant.
PACIFIC OCEAN (April 23, 2014) The littoral combat ships USS Independence (LCS 2), back, and USS Coronado (LCS 4) are underway in the Pacific Ocean. (U.S. Navy photo by Chief Mass Communication Specialist Keith DeVinney/Released)
     
Navy hardware and Raytheon's software are built with an open architecture, maximizing flexibility to add new technology as needed. Under a related effort, the Navy's Common Control System, or NCCS, will be able to control any air, ground, surface and subsurface vehicles as they deploy with the fleet. Built on the flexible foundation of Fire Scout MCS, that capability will reduce Navy-wide implementation costs and training requirements for unmanned systems.

"Our new Fire Scout MCS enables Fire Scout to bring more mission to more areas," said Captain Jeff Dodge, U.S. Navy, Fire Scout program manager. "Fire Scout is a proven capability in dynamic littoral environments, and now provides the potential for multiple platforms to be controlled from a single MCS aboard the ship."

USS Coronado is the first Littoral Combat Ship to use this upgraded Fire Scout MCS operationally, after logging 600+ hours of testing.

Link to Independence class Littoral Combat Ship technical datasheet