The US Navy’s second MQ-4C Triton unmanned aircraft system (UAS) has successfully completed its maiden flight at Northrop Grumman‘s Palmdale facility in California, US, ahead of its flight to a navy facility in Maryland later this month.
As part of the programme, a flight test team from Northrop, together with the navy, executed the MQ-4C’s 6.7-hour flight.
Northrop Grumman Triton programme director Mike Mackey said: "Our team worked incredibly hard to get the second Triton ready for first flight, which will help us plan its ferry flight to [the] Naval Air Station Patuxent River.
"We’re eager to continue working with the navy during the next phase of Triton’s flight test programme to speed up its availability to the warfighter."
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By GlobalDataIn a bid to make the UAS capable of conducting a safe ferry flight, it will undergo a range of ground checks and inspections.
Triton can fly at altitudes for more than 10 miles, covering a million square nautical miles of ocean.
Featuring a range of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance sensor payloads, it enables military commanders to accumulate high-resolution imagery, use radar to detect targets and deliver airborne communications and information-sharing capabilities to military units across long distances.
The navy is reportedly constructing 68 Triton systems for deployment with the manned P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft. These will be used for persistent intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions across vast ocean and coastal regions.
Image: The US Navy’s second MQ-4C Triton unmanned aircraft system (UAS) built by Northrop Grumman. Photo: courtesy of Northrop Grumman Corporation.
