Northrop-Grumman MQ-8C Fire Scout

Based on the Bell 407 Fire-X provide greater endurance, range and payload capacity than the previous MQ-8 A/B variants. Modifications to the MQ-8C's airframes are carried out at the Bell Helicopter facility in Ozark, Alabama, while final assembly is performed in Moss Point, Mississippi.

In 2012, Northrop Grumman started low-rate production.

First flight by 168455 /VX on October 31, 2013 at Naval Base Ventura County.

The MQ-8C entered test service in 2014 with ship-based deployments expected to start in 2017.

On July 2019, achivied Initial Operational Capability (IOC) with the US Navy with the MQ-8C fleet flown over 1,500 hours with more than 700 sorties to date. The Navy has 38 aircraft on order.

As of March 2020, 32 of 38 MQ-8C have been delivered to the US Navy