MQ-8B Fire Scout UAV Manning Cost Benefit Analysis
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Authors
Jurta, Daniel
Pettigrew, Bryan
Dye, Adam
Hodge, Joshua
Mullen, James
Schweikert, Grant
Subjects
Advisors
Wood, Frank R. "Chip"
Date of Issue
2011-09-06
Date
Publisher
Monterey, California. Naval Postgraduate School
Language
Abstract
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
At the request of the Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Task Force, the Naval Air Systems Command‘s program office for Multi-Mission Tactical Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS)—also known as PMA-266, began MQ-8B flight operations in Afghanistan. Due to the importance and short notice of this request, the initial manning and support measures for the Fire Scout detachment has relied heavily on contractors.
In an effort to refine and redirect the future manning of Fire Scout detachments, PMA-266 asked the Washington DC Naval Postgraduate School Consulting Group to evaluate three different courses of action (COAs) detailing manning options for deployment of the MQ-8B Fire Scout for the next year. The three COAs were:
1) Manning with a military component
2) Manning with NGC contract services
3) Manning through a third party contractor.
This report recommends that PMA-266 use the military component COA to the maximum extent possible. In addition to annual cost savings of over $10M, a military component provides greater mission-focus and flexibility inherent in a military chain of command as compared to a contract manning structure. The Navy would also benefit by obtaining operational UAS experience as it looks to develop an unmanned aviation community. The experience gained could be used to develop Navy instructors for operator and maintenance training instead of continuing to rely on contract support for these requirements.
Type
Thesis
Description
EMBA Project Report
Department
Organization
Identifiers
NPS Report Number
Sponsors
For Capt Patrick Smith
Director PMA-266
Funder
Format
Citation
Distribution Statement
Rights
This publication is a work of the U.S. Government as defined in Title 17, United States Code, Section 101. Copyright protection is not available for this work in the United States.