In preparation for ship-board flights this spring, the MQ-8C Fire Scout will be tested at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md., for its ability to operate safely in the intense electromagnetic environment aboard U.S. Navy ships. The MQ-8C uses specially-designed Faraday cages, installed during final assembly at Northrop Grumman’s Unmanned Systems Center in Moss Point, Miss., to protect sensitive equipment on the aircraft from signal interference. The MQ-8C is based on a larger helicopter airframe and can fly almost twice as long and carry three times more intelligence-gathering sensor payloads than its predecessor, the MQ-8B. The Faraday cages are built by Summit Aviation in Somerset, Ky. Since first flight in October the MQ-8C has flown 102 flights. (Source: Northrop Grumman, 05/05/14)