US Navy Commissions First UAV Test Squadron Written 23 October 2018

Aviation International News reports that the US Navy commissioned its first test squadron dedicated to UAVs in a ceremony on October 18. The creation of the squadron was “approved by Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral John Richardson, in April.” Air Test and Evaluation Squadron (UX) 24 continues the “work of the UAS Test Directorate of the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD).” During the squadron’s commissioning ceremony, UX-24 Commander Matthew Densing said, “This squadron centralizes the Navy’s technical excellence in unmanned aviation. As the Navy continues to require the broad range of capability offered by UASs, UX-24 will always challenge the status quo.” The squadron operates more than 23 UAVs, including the “Northrop Grumman MQ-8 Fire Scout, Boeing/Insitu RQ-21 Blackjack, Aeronautics RQ-26 Aerostar, and the RQ-11 Raven, RQ-12 Wasp and RQ-20 Puma from AeroVironment,” as well as a number of commercial UAVs. The Fire Scout is in active testing with the squadron.
More Info (Aviation International News)