US Army and Navy partner on MQ-8C testing for sensor packages

MQ-8C hovering during initial flights out of Michael Army Airfield at Dugway Proving Grounds, UT. Noah Ward, U.S. Army Redstone Test Center Photographer (US Army/Multi-Mission Tactical UAS (PMA-266))

Spearheaded by the Multi-Mission Tactical UAS Program Office (PMA-266), the US Army and US Navy partnered together to repurpose the Northrop Grumman MQ-8C Fire Scout as an unmanned platform accelerating critical testing of Army sensor packages.

The partnership has given a second life to a platform that was slated to begin divestment in February 2024, with its final sundown scheduled for the end of fiscal year (FY) 2026.

“With its extended flight endurance, the MQ-8C offers specialized capabilities for tracking Group 4 Unmanned Aircraft Systems [UAS] across complex backgrounds,” Christy Barnett, public affairs officer at US Army Redstone Test Center (RTC), told Janes on 10 November 2026.

The partnership began in November 2024, when PMA-266 received a request to evaluate whether the MQ-8C was capable of testing Army sensor packages as a captive-carry testbed for US Army RTC.

Following a December 2024 site visit to Point Mugu, California, to evaluate the aircraft and its mission control systems, RTC submitted a formal request to Air Warfare Division (N98) of Office of the Chief of Naval Operations (OPNAV) for four MQ-8Cs in January 2025, along with “two Mobile Mission Control Systems (MMCSs), spare engines and associated support equipment for site standup at Redstone Arsenal”, according to Navy Portfolio Acquisition Executive (PAE) for Aviation.

The Army's Redstone Test Center acquired four MQ-8C Fire Scout aircraft in July 2025 for the purpose of conducting developmental test and evaluation activities, according to Navy PAE Aviation.