Integration of the Fire Scout Tactical Unmanned Aerial System into Littoral Combat Ship Missions (Paperback)

The purpose of this research is to determine if the Fire Scout unmanned aerial system (UAS) is an effective mission multiplier for the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS). The U.S. Navy relies heavily on unmanned systems, such as the Fire Scout UAS, to enable LCS to conduct several complex littoral missions. Additionally, LCS must reallocate precious shipboard space for one of its manned helicopters to the Fire Scout UAS. Although UAS employment has spread rapidly throughout the U.S. military, the gaps in capability between manned and unmanned systems need to be explored. By analyzing each LCS mission, this study uses a comparative analysis of the task performance of the Fire Scout UAS and the MH-60 manned helicopter in order to identify where the Fire Scout system is complimentary to the LCS mission. This analysis also explores UAS integration issues along with future weapons and sensor capabilities requiring additional research.