Weekend All Things Considered- NPR (8:00 PM ET) July 20, 2002
Northrop Grumman's unmanned helicopter Fire Scout
JACKI LYDEN, host: The US Navy has been pumping research money into the development of a new unmanned helicopter called the Fire Scout. Built in San Diego by Northrop Grumman, the Fire Scout has recently completed a series of successful flight tests, and boosters are excited about its capabilities in a combat setting. Yet the aircraft's future is in doubt and funding has been cut back. From member station KPBS, Russell Lewis reports on the Fire Scout and the difficulty of transforming the US military with new technology.
RUSSELL LEWIS reporting: It's early at the Naval Air Weapons Station at China Lake where the Fire Scout is undergoing tests. The sun is just beginning to peek over the horizon at this desolated base near Death Valley National Park in central California. At the end of a runway, technicians scurry around the Fire Scout making final checks before a flight. It's a gray, windowless helicopter, about the size of a small car. Unlike most unmanned systems, which are operated remotely from the ground, the Fire Scout can fly autonomously. It can take off from a Navy ship, fly a preprogrammed route and land all without any human intervention.
(Soundbite of Fire Scout)
LEWIS: It lifts off swiftly, beginning what is to be a half-hour flight covering nine miles in a zig-zag course of climbs, turns and descents. The Navy and Marine Corps have high hopes for the Fire Scout and its intelligence-gathering capabilities. The $3 million aircraft is equipped with powerful cameras that can relay video in real time to troops on the ground or fighter pilots in the air. It can stay aloft for up to six hours and use its infrared cameras and lasers to help bombs zero in on targets. Even though this test vehicle has just taken off, it's surprisingly quiet and hard to see. Scott Winship(ph) is the Fire Scout program manager.
Mr. SCOTT WINSHIP (Fire Scout Program Manager): It's about five miles away from us. You can't hear it. You can't really see it unless somebody with really good eyes points it out. And it could probably take a picture of your badge and read the number off it.
LEWIS: Inside a trailer near the runway, a dozen technicians are staring at computer screens, tracking the flight's performance. Operators can program new instructions or order the Fire Scout to land if necessary.
Unidentified Woman: OK, vehicle's approaching wavepoint 15, about 20 seconds to go. At wavepoint 15, the vehicle will turn right.
LEWIS: Originally, the Navy had agreed to buy 23 of the helicopters. Now the service will only purchase five, with funding for future development ending next year. Scott Winship says that leaves Fire Scout's future up in the air.
Mr. WINSHIP: It's frustrating, only because we're having a pretty good degree of success. The system is doing essentially what it was supposed to do, and it's performing almost exactly as predicted.
LEWIS: The Navy is keeping tight-lipped on why it's eliminating funding for the Fire Scout. Despite its small size, some fear the helicopter is an easy target for enemy ground troops. Other Navy officials say they don't like the idea of an unmanned helicopter operating off busy flight decks. Captain Rand LeBouvier is making procurement decisions in the Naval Air Warfare office. He says unmanned systems proved their worth in recent years, but new development systems don't meet all the Navy's needs.
Captain RAND LeBOUVIER (Naval Air Warfare Office): What we think is the issue now is what we've learned in Kosovo and what we've learned in Afghanistan, and it's turning out to be a different requirement. Is this going to be a product that is going to be operationally useful to the war fighter based on today's environment?
LEWIS: LeBouvier says the answer is no. Since the 1980s, the Navy has spent more than $2 billion developing unmanned systems and have just one aircraft in the fleet--the Pioneer. The Air Force has the high-profile Global Hawk and Predator in its arsenal, both of which have won accolades in recent conflicts. The Navy wants to develop its own unmanned systems because they're seen as the wave of the future, part of the Navy's push to transform itself into a more high-tech service. Military analyst John Pike of GlobalSecurity.org says unmanned aerial vehicles will eventually find a larger role in combat but will take time because some of the technology is so revolutionary that some in the Pentagon aren't yet ready to embrace it.
Mr. JOHN PIKE (GlobalSecurity.org): I think that the frustration of the developers reflects the unavoidable gap between what might be physically possible and what the military is prepared to bet their lives on.
LEWIS: Back at China Lake, Northrop officials, for their part, are putting on a brave face. The company has begun a public awareness campaign to market the Fire Scout for homeland defense. The Coast Guard has also expressed an interest for monitoring ports. As he watched the Fire Scout land on target after this recent flight test, program manager Scott Winship was jubilant.
Mr. WINSHIP: Sixty-three inches from the mark after a nine-mile flight. That's pretty good.
LEWIS: Navy people in the field have generally been more impressed with the Fire Scout than their counterparts at the Pentagon. This week Vice Admiral Tim LaFleur, commander of the Pacific Surface Fleet, saw the program first-hand and liked it. He's pushing to test the Fire Scout on a Navy ship later this year. For NPR News, I'm Russell Lewis in San Diego.
Copyright 2002 National Public Radio (R)
