Establishment of the US Navy’s first dedicated test squadron for unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) was marked with an October 18 ceremony at Naval Air Station Patuxent River’s Webster Field, Maryland.
Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 24 (UX-24), now operates more than 23 fixed- and rotary-wing systems, including the MQ-8 Fire Scout, RQ-20 Puma, RQ-21 Blackjack, and RQ-26 Aero star, as well as some commercial UAS.
UX-24’s first commanding officer, Cdr Matthew Densing said: “This squadron centralizes the Navy’s technical excellence in unmanned aviation.”
In April, Chief of Naval Operations Admiral John Richardson approved establishment of UX-24 to provide research, development, test and evaluation support for Navy and Marine Corps unmanned aerial systems to meet the requirement of a command dedicated solely to that mission.
The October 18 ceremony marked the squadron’s official transition from what was formerly known as the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division’s UAS Test Directorate. Rick Burgess
