MQ-8 Fire Scout: Cost, Contracts & Timeline

Cost to the Government

Cost figures
Measure	Amount	Source
Program totals · 1
R&D program totalA lifetime program R&D total was not established. Development contracts and shared program budgets are not substituted for that total.	Not established	—
Unit costs · 1
Comparable unit priceNo comparable standalone unit price was established; package or contract totals are shown separately.	Not established	—
Quantities · 2
Historical MQ-8C procurement totalC variant only; program also bought 30 MQ-8Bs. Purchased quantity is not current operational inventory.	38U.S. only; stated source scope	PB2024 Navy aircraft modification exhibits U.S. Navy · figure PB2024 narrative
U.S. inventoryA current U.S. inventory was not established. Annual procurement, cumulative deliveries and production capacity are not a stockpile count.	Not established	—
Operating costs · 1
Historical modeled annual O&S / MQ-8 aircraftCombined MQ-8B/C estimate; $2,644.1M / 465 operating-aircraft years. Not a C-only actual cost; some shared MH-60 detachment manpower excluded.	$5.681M / yrConstant FY2017 $; mixed B/C program	MQ-8 Fire Scout December 2019 Selected Acquisition Report U.S. Navy / DoD · figure December 2019 SAR

Program totals · 1

R&D program totalA lifetime program R&D total was not established. Development contracts and shared program budgets are not substituted for that total.
Source not recorded
Not established

Unit costs · 1

Comparable unit priceNo comparable standalone unit price was established; package or contract totals are shown separately.
Source not recorded
Not established

Quantities · 2

Historical MQ-8C procurement totalC variant only; program also bought 30 MQ-8Bs. Purchased quantity is not current operational inventory.
PB2024 Navy aircraft modification exhibits U.S. Navy · figure PB2024 narrative
38U.S. only; stated source scope
U.S. inventoryA current U.S. inventory was not established. Annual procurement, cumulative deliveries and production capacity are not a stockpile count.
Source not recorded
Not established

Operating costs · 1

Historical modeled annual O&S / MQ-8 aircraftCombined MQ-8B/C estimate; $2,644.1M / 465 operating-aircraft years. Not a C-only actual cost; some shared MH-60 detachment manpower excluded.
MQ-8 Fire Scout December 2019 Selected Acquisition Report U.S. Navy / DoD · figure December 2019 SAR
$5.681M / yrConstant FY2017 $; mixed B/C program

Earlier observations · 3

Superseded estimates and prices, each in its original scope and dollar basis.

Earlier cost observations
Measure	Amount	Source
Fire Scout modification funding¹	$31.566MNominal $; dated budget snapshot	PB2024 Navy aircraft modification exhibits U.S. Navy · figure FY2022
Fire Scout modification funding¹	$9.846MNominal $; dated budget snapshot	PB2024 Navy aircraft modification exhibits U.S. Navy · figure FY2023
Fire Scout modification funding¹	$14.7MNominal $; dated budget snapshot	PB2024 Navy aircraft modification exhibits U.S. Navy · figure FY2024 request

Fire Scout modification funding¹
PB2024 Navy aircraft modification exhibits U.S. Navy · figure FY2022
$31.566MNominal $; dated budget snapshot
Fire Scout modification funding¹
PB2024 Navy aircraft modification exhibits U.S. Navy · figure FY2023
$9.846MNominal $; dated budget snapshot
Fire Scout modification funding¹
PB2024 Navy aircraft modification exhibits U.S. Navy · figure FY2024 request
$14.7MNominal $; dated budget snapshot

¹PB2024 budget vintage; modernization funding, not new air vehicles.

Later divestment plans supersede the old operational narrative

PB2026 describes full MQ-8C divestment and transfer of 36 remaining air vehicles, plus contract closeout and disposal support. A plan for disposal is not confirmation of the final disposition of every airframe.

PB2026 Navy O&M: MQ-8C divestment U.S. Navy

Mixed-family development is not a C-only total

The historical Fire Scout SAR covers both MQ-8B and MQ-8C. This page does not label its family acquisition or R&D totals as exclusive to the C variant.

MQ-8 Fire Scout December 2019 Selected Acquisition Report U.S. Navy / DoD

International buyers · 1

International buyers
Country	Qty	Status	Source
United StatesPurchases and program plans are not a current operational inventory.	Not verified	U.S. program customer	PB2026 Navy O&M: MQ-8C divestment U.S. Navy · figure Dated source snapshot

Open research: Buyer records are selected examples, not a complete global order book. Current U.S. operational inventory was not established; dated purchases, deliveries and plans remain separate. A comparable complete-system unit purchase price was not established. A system-specific lifetime R&D total was not established.

What the government budgets and pays for this program, from budget justification books, appropriations, acquisition reports and contract announcements. Each figure states its dollar basis. What contractors were obligated is under Contracts.

Contracts$334M obligated since FY2008

Explore in Awards →

Contractors6

Northrop Grumman$314M 94%
Boeing$9.6M 2.9%
Textron$5.3M 1.6%
L3Harris Technologies$4.4M 1.3%
GE Aerospace$716K 0.2%
BAE Systems$10K 0.0%

Awards41

Sort

Government awards. Select a sortable column heading to sort.
								Conf.
Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation	THIS CONTRACT PROCURES REACH-BACK SUPPORT FOR THE DATABUS EFFORT.	U.S. Navy	Delivery Order	Jan 17, 2024	$1.2M	$1.2M	MQ-8 Fire Scout	Reported
Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation	PROCUREMENT OF RUMGAU A-KITS AND ASSOCIATED NON RECURRING ENGINEERING (NRE).	U.S. Navy	Delivery Order	Sep 11, 2023	$378K	$378K	MQ-8 Fire Scout	Reported
Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation	NON-RECURRING ENGINEERING	U.S. Navy	Delivery Order	Jul 25, 2023	$8.7M	$8.7M	MQ-8 Fire Scout	Reported
Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation	FOLLOW-ON MQ-8 SOFTWARE SUSTAINMENT CONTRACT FOR CY23-CY25	U.S. Navy	Definitive Contract	Dec 22, 2022	$28.4M	$70.1M	MQ-8 Fire Scout	Reported
Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation	SOFTWARE/FIRMWARE UPGRADE VMC	U.S. Navy	Delivery Order	Dec 15, 2022	$431K	$431K	MQ-8 Fire Scout	Reported
Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation	PLER MQ-8C NETWORK PHASE 1 UPGRADE - NRE	U.S. Navy	Delivery Order	Sep 29, 2022	$3.3M	$3.3M	MQ-8 Fire Scout	Reported
BAE Systems Information and Electronic Systems Integration Inc.	REPAIR OF COUNTERMEASURE CONTROL	U.S. Navy	Purchase Order	Nov 2, 2021	$10K	$30K	MQ-8 Fire Scout	Reported
Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation	MQ8C FAULT TREE ANALYSIS	U.S. Navy	Delivery Order	Aug 6, 2021	$5.0M	$5.9M	MQ-8 Fire Scout	Reported
Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation	RADAR A-KIT INSTALLATIONS AND TEACHES.	U.S. Navy	Delivery Order	Jun 30, 2021	$3.6M	$7.2M	MQ-8 Fire Scout	Reported
Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation	NON-RECURRING ENGINEERING (NRE)	U.S. Navy	Delivery Order	Dec 9, 2020	$5.8M	$5.8M	MQ-8 Fire Scout	Reported
Boeing Distribution Inc.	MQ-8C ENGINE AND SPARE COMPONENTS	U.S. Navy	Delivery Order	Sep 29, 2020	$9.6M	$9.6M	MQ-8 Fire Scout	Reported
Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation	MQ-8C AN/ZPY-8 RADAR SPARE COMPONENTS AND TCDL ANTENNA RADOME UPGRADE UNITS	U.S. Navy	Delivery Order	Sep 24, 2020	$6.2M	$9.5M	MQ-8 Fire Scout	Reported
Textron	NON-RECURRING ENGINEERING (NRE)TO DESIGN AND DELIVER A CABIN DOOR PROTOTYPE ON THE MQ-8C	U.S. Navy	Delivery Order	Sep 23, 2020	$3.2M	$3.7M	MQ-8 Fire Scout	Reported
Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation	NRE, KITS, INSTALLATION, AND INTEGRATION OF RUMGAU UPGRADES.	U.S. Navy	Delivery Order	Sep 8, 2020	$12.1M	$12.1M	MQ-8 Fire Scout	Reported
L3Harris Technologies	VORTEX&SRQ-4 SYSTEM(S) FOR FIRESCOUT. SPARES AND REPAIR WORK FOR 15 OTHER VORTEX SYSTEMS.	U.S. Navy	Delivery Order	Aug 11, 2020	$4.4M	$4.4M	MQ-8 Fire Scout	Reported
Textron	COOLER,OIL	Defense Logistics Agency	Delivery Order	Apr 27, 2020	$169K	$169K	MQ-8 Fire Scout	Reported
Textron	ARINC ANALOG CONVER	Defense Logistics Agency	Delivery Order	Apr 15, 2020	$168K	$168K	MQ-8 Fire Scout	Reported
Textron	ARINC ANALOG CONVER	Defense Logistics Agency	Delivery Order	Apr 9, 2020	$545K	$545K	MQ-8 Fire Scout	Reported
Textron	PROBE,FUEL QTY (FWD	Defense Logistics Agency	Delivery Order	Mar 12, 2020	$81K	$81K	MQ-8 Fire Scout	Reported
Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation	WEAPONS INTEGRATION STUDY	U.S. Navy	Delivery Order	Feb 11, 2020	$2.4M	$2.6M	MQ-8 Fire Scout	Reported
Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation	CY20-CY22 SUSTAINMENT CONTRACT	U.S. Navy	Definitive Contract	Dec 20, 2019	$69.3M	$78.6M	MQ-8 Fire Scout	Reported
Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation	PRODUCE EIGHT (8) AN/ZPY-8 RADAR MODIFICATION KITS AND EIGHT (8) FORWARD ACCESS PANEL MODIFICATION KITS WITH ALL ASSOCIATED NON-RECURRING ENGINEERING TO QUALIFY A NEW MISSION PROCESSOR UNIT (MPU) FOR DELIVERY WITH THE MODIFICATION KITS.	U.S. Navy	Delivery Order	Dec 9, 2019	$11.7M	$12.6M	MQ-8 Fire Scout	Reported
Textron	SHAFT ASSY, FREEWHE	Defense Logistics Agency	Delivery Order	Nov 7, 2019	$408K	$408K	MQ-8 Fire Scout	Reported
Textron	STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS	U.S. Navy	Delivery Order	Jul 22, 2019	$56K	$56K	MQ-8 Fire Scout	Reported
Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation	UPPER PULLEY ASSEMB	Defense Logistics Agency	Delivery Order	Jun 13, 2019	$334K	$334K	MQ-8 Fire Scout	Reported
Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation	IGF::OT:IGF THE PURPOSE OF THIS MODIFICATION IS TO PROCURE THE N23, N24,&N07 PIECE PART KITS.	U.S. Navy	Delivery Order	Sep 26, 2018	$1.7M	$1.7M	MQ-8 Fire Scout	Reported
Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation	IGF::CL:IGF DEMONSTRATE LINK-16 IN-FLIGHT TARGET UPDATE (IFTU) CAPABILITY USING THE MQ-8C FIRE SCOUT UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEM (UAS)	U.S. Navy	Delivery Order	Dec 21, 2017	$1.0M	$1.4M	MQ-8 Fire Scout	Reported
Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation	IGF::CL::IGF THE PURPOSE OF THIS ORDER IS FOR THE PROCUREMENT OF THE BELL 407 GXP INTEGRATED LOGISTICS SUPPORT (ILS) SUPPORTING THE MQ-8C.	U.S. Navy	Delivery Order	Dec 12, 2017	$384K	$384K	MQ-8 Fire Scout	Reported
GE Aerospace	PROCUREMENT AND DELIVERY OF SEVENTEEN (17) RES-210 ETHERNET SWITCHES IAW PID# N00019-17-NORFP-PMA-266-0083.	U.S. Navy	Definitive Contract	May 5, 2017	$234K	$234K	MQ-8 Fire Scout	Reported
Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation	IGF:OT:IGF LN-251 LITTON NAVIGATOR INTEGRATION NRE, PROTOTYPE KITS, GROUND TEST ENGINEERING SUPPORT, AND ASSOCIATED TECHNICAL DATA.	U.S. Navy	Delivery Order	May 2, 2017	$3.9M	$4.5M	MQ-8 Fire Scout	Reported
Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation	PRELIMINARY INSTALLATION DESIGN	U.S. Navy	Definitive Contract	Feb 22, 2017	$60.9M	$70.7M	MQ-8 Fire Scout	Reported
Textron	IGF::OT::IGF TIE DOWN&SECURING STRESS ANALYSIS	U.S. Navy	Delivery Order	Jan 20, 2017	$681K	$681K	MQ-8 Fire Scout	Reported
Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation	IGF::OT::IGF ENGINEERING/SOFTWARE SUSTAINMENT	U.S. Navy	Definitive Contract	Dec 27, 2016	$73.3M	$78.0M	MQ-8 Fire Scout	Reported
Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation	MQ-8C AND MQ-8B RT-1939A INTEGRATION AND IFF UPGRADE	U.S. Navy	Delivery Order	Dec 21, 2016	$589K	$723K	MQ-8 Fire Scout	Reported
Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation	N1 ASSESSMENT FOR REPAIR	U.S. Navy	Delivery Order	Dec 21, 2016	$225K	$225K	MQ-8 Fire Scout	Reported
Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation	RETROFIT KIT, RADAR RDC	U.S. Navy	Delivery Order	Sep 30, 2016	$2.5M	$2.5M	MQ-8 Fire Scout	Reported
Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation	DCP SW REFACTORING&VMC STUDIES	U.S. Navy	Delivery Order	Sep 28, 2016	$5.1M	$5.2M	MQ-8 Fire Scout	Reported
Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation	MAIN ROTOR BLADE (MRB) VENDOR CERTIFICATION, QUALIFICATION TESTING, FATIGUE TESTING, AND INITIAL BLADE MANUFACTURE.	U.S. Navy	Delivery Order	Sep 22, 2016	$2.9M	$2.9M	MQ-8 Fire Scout	Reported
Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation	CABLE HARNESS ASSEMBLY	U.S. Navy	Delivery Order	May 25, 2016	$79K	$79K	MQ-8 Fire Scout	Reported
Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation	NRE BELL 407 DIGITAL COCKPIT ECP	U.S. Navy	Delivery Order	Mar 31, 2016	$3.0M	$3.2M	MQ-8 Fire Scout	Reported
GE Aerospace	PROCUREMENT OF 12 DEFECT MEASUREMENT VIDEO BORESCOPE SETS.	U.S. Navy	Definitive Contract	Sep 16, 2015	$482K	$482K	MQ-8 Fire Scout	Reported

Obligations are signed USAspending prime-contract actions coded to this program, FY2008 to date, credited to the company that received each action. Obligations are money committed, not company revenue.

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