MQ-8B Fire Scout UAV Manning Cost Benefit Analysis

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.