PALMDALE, Calif., May 22, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The Northrop
Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC)-built MQ-4C Triton high-altitude
unmanned aircraft successfully completed its first flight today
from the company's manufacturing facility in Palmdale.
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Triton is specially designed to fly surveillance missions up to
24 hours at altitudes of more than 10 miles – allowing coverage out
to 2,000 nautical miles. The advanced suite of sensors can detect
and automatically classify different types of ships.
"First flight represents a critical step in maturing Triton's
systems before operationally supporting the Navy's maritime
surveillance mission around the world," said Capt. James Hoke, Triton program manager with Naval
Air Systems Command. "Replacing our aging surveillance aircraft
with a system like Triton will allow us to monitor ocean areas
significantly larger with greater persistence."
A Navy and Northrop Grumman flight test team conducted about a
1.5-hour flight that started at 7:10
a.m. from Palmdale.
Northrop Grumman is the prime contractor to the Navy's MQ-4C
Triton Broad Area Maritime Surveillance program.
"Triton is the most advanced intelligence, surveillance and
reconnaissance [ISR] unmanned aircraft system ever designed for use
across vast ocean areas and coastal regions," said Mike Mackey, Northrop Grumman Triton UAS deputy
program director. "Through a cooperative effort with the Navy and
our industry partners, we successfully demonstrated the flight
control systems that allow Triton to operate autonomously. We
couldn't be prouder of the entire team for this achievement."
Additional flight tests will take place from Palmdale to mature the system before being
flown to the main flight test facility at Naval Air Station
Patuxent River, Md., later this
year.
In 2008, Northrop Grumman was awarded a systems development and
demonstration contract to build two aircraft and test them in
preparation for operational missions.
The Navy's program of record calls for 68 Tritons to be
built.
Triton carries a variety of ISR sensor payloads that allow
military commanders to gather high-resolution imagery, use radar to
detect targets, and provide airborne communications and information
sharing capabilities to military units across long distances.
At 130.9 feet, Triton has a wingspan larger than the world's
most common commercial airliner, the Boeing 737. Combined with an
efficient engine and other aerodynamic design features, Triton can
fly 11,500 miles without refueling.
Northrop Grumman's Triton industry team includes Aurora Flight
Sciences, BAE Systems, Curtis-Wright Corporation, L3
Communications, Raytheon, Rolls-Royce, Sierra Nevada Corporation
and Vought Aircraft Industries.
Northrop Grumman is a leading global security company providing
innovative systems, products and solutions in unmanned systems,
cyber, C4ISR, and logistics and modernization to government and
commercial customers worldwide. Please visit
www.northropgrumman.com for more information.
SOURCE Northrop Grumman Corporation