NORTHROP GRUMMAN successfully completed the maiden flight of the first US Navy MQ-4C Triton from its facility at Palmdale, California, on May 21. The UAV, Bu No 168457, took off at 07:10 and was airborne for an hour and 20 minutes, successfully demonstrating the control systems that enable the Triton to operate autonomously. During the flight, in restricted airspace, the MQ-4C reached an altitude of 20,000ft (6,096m) before returning to Palmdale. The first Triton, being developed under the US Navy's Broad Area Maritime Surveillance (BAMS) programme, was rolled out at Palmdale on June 14 last year. Flight testing at Palmdale will continue for the next few months to develop the system before it is transferred in the autumn to the main flight test facility at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, for continued testing. When operational, the Triton will complement the US Navy's manned Boeing P-8A Poseidon as it can fly for longer periods and transmit information in real time to units in the air and on the ground. It will be based at five locations around the world and be capable of flying 24-hour missions at altitudes greater than ten miles (16km), allowing its systems to monitor 2,000nm of ocean and coastal areas at any one time. The US Navy plans to eventually acquire up to 68 MQ-4C Tritons.
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