Leonardo-Finmeccanica to supply AESA radar for Navy MQ-8C unmanned helicopter

The U.S. Navy is ordering an AESA radar system for the newly upgraded MQ-8C Fire Scout unmanned helicopter from Italy's Leonardo-Finmeccanica in Rome. Under a contract issued by the Naval Air Systems Command at Patuxent River Naval Air Station, Md., the company is to deliver five AESA radar units for test and evaluation. The contract contains an option to buy a larger quantity of the radars for use in real operations aboard the MQ-8C Fire Scout. The Osprey radar uses electronic beam technology to scan from high in the sky to detect threats beyond the range of standard ship-based sensors in all environmental conditions, when visibility is extremely poor. It features flat-panel technology for installation within the mould line of the helicopter rather than having to use an underslung belly-pod. The MQ-8C Fire Scout autonomous unmanned helicopter is to be integrated with U.S. Navy littoral combat ships. The Navy is to be provided with the two-panel version of the Osprey radar, which will provide a 240-degree instantaneous field of view and a range of digital modes, including weather detection and air-to-air targeting.