14 DAY TRIAL // Officials with the Northrop Grumman Corporation and the United States Navy announced today, March 24, that a joint team from the two organizations successfully completed initial flight testing of the Triton Unmanned Aerial System (UAS). During the mission, which took place at a Northrop facility in Palmdale, California, more than 568 test points were covered and resolved.
With this important milestone out of the way, the development team can now focus on starting flight testing for the second Triton and on moving the entire test program to the East Coast. The aircraft, designed MQ-4C, is developed from Northrop Grumman's famous RQ-4 Global Hawk drone.
Triton is primarily intended to act as a surveillance aircraft and will work in tandem with the Boeing P-8 Poseidon aircraft. The US Navy uses the latter for maritime patrol applications, anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, shipping interdiction, and for electronic signals intelligence gathering.
During the recent tests, a Triton was allowed to fly at various speeds and altitudes, while carrying payloads of different weights. Most of the technical points the team was interested in were validated during 13 flights. These sorties totaled 81 hours, and some reached altitudes as high as 18,272 meters (59,950 feet). Both Triton UAS will soon be shipped to the Naval Air Station Patuxent River, in Maryland.
“Following Triton's first flight in May, we've seen a steady increase in the number of test flights and test points being accomplished. We're now working to fly the second test aircraft and then prepare to ferry both aircraft to Naval Air Station Patuxent River,” explains the manager of the Triton program at the Naval Air Systems Command, Captain James Hoke.