SAN DIEGO, Jan. 6, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Northrop Grumman
Corporation (NYSE: NOC) and the U.S. Navy have completed nine
initial flight tests of the Triton unmanned aircraft system (UAS),
marking the half-way point in a process called envelope expansion.
(Logo:
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20121024/LA98563LOGO)
A photo accompanying this release is available at
http://media.globenewswire.com/noc/mediagallery.html?pkgid=22898. A
YouTube video is also available at http://bit.ly/1isarXS.
During envelope expansion, the test team validates the
aircraft's ability to operate at a range of altitudes, speeds and
weights. The flights are taking place at the company's
manufacturing facility in Palmdale,
Calif.
"Completion of envelope expansion will allow the test team to
prepare for installation and further testing of Triton's
surveillance sensors," said Mike
Mackey, Northrop Grumman's Triton program director.
The Triton test team accomplished endurance flights up to
9.4-hours at altitudes up to 50,000 feet. The aircraft also
performed doublets, a maneuver that tests the aircraft's ability to
recover from small perturbations in its flight path caused by
turbulence.
Triton carries a variety of intelligence, surveillance and
reconnaissance 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.
The Navy plans to field 68 Triton UAS and will be used with the
manned P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft to conduct
surveillance missions.
Triton completed its first flight May
22.
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