MQ-4C Triton UAS Completes Cross-Country Flight

Photo courtesy Northrop Grumman

By Scott Kesselman



The MQ-4C Triton unmanned aircraft system, developed by Northrop Grumman Corp. for the U.S. Navy, completed its first flight from the company’s facility in Palmdale, California, to Naval Air Station Patuxent River in Maryland.  



“Triton is the Navy’s largest, most advanced unmanned maritime surveillance system to cross such a distance,” says Northrop Grumman’s Triton UAS Program Director Mike Mackey.



At the Naval Air Station the aircraft will be equipped with a sensor suite and undergo a series of sensor integration flights as part of the next phase of system development and demonstration tests.  



One of the primary sensors, the AN/ZPY-3, provides a 360-degree field of view, and, along with the aircraft’s capability to support altitudes up to 10 miles and flights up to 24 hours, will allow the Triton to cover one million square nautical miles of ocean in a single mission. 



“Triton is one of the Navy’s most significant investments in unmanned aircraft systems to date, and we look forward to evaluating its capabilities,” says Capt. James Hoke, Triton program manager for Naval Air Systems Command.



Over the next few weeks, two more Tritons will make the cross-country trek. One, a demonstration aircraft, is owned by Northrop Grumman, and the other is Navy owned.