PALMDALE, Calif., Sept. 18, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The first U.S.
Navy MQ-4C Triton unmanned aircraft system (UAS) has completed a
flight from California to
Maryland. The UAS flew 11 hours
from the Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) facility in
Palmdale to Naval Air Station
Patuxent River to start its next phase of testing, moving the
program closer toward operational assessment. Northrop Grumman is
the prime contractor for the Navy's MQ-4C Triton UAS program.
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At Naval Air Station Patuxent River, the aircraft will be
outfitted with a sensor suite, before going through a series of
sensor integration flights. One of Triton's primary sensors, the
AN/ZPY-3 multifunction active sensor radar, will provide an
unprecedented 360-degree field of regard for detecting and
identifying ships.
"Now that the aircraft has arrived, we are ready to conduct the
next phase of the test program," said Capt. James Hoke, Triton program manager, Naval Air
Systems Command. "Triton is one of the Navy's most significant
investments in unmanned aircraft systems to date and we look
forward to evaluating its capabilities."
In preparation for the cross-country flight, a Navy/Northrop
Grumman team completed numerous systems tests on Triton.
During the flight, the joint team controlled the aircraft from a
ground station in Palmdale, which
served as the forward operating base, and a Navy System Integration
Lab at Patuxent River, which
served as the main operating base. The aircraft traveled along the
same flight path that was used to transfer the Broad Area Maritime
Surveillance Demonstrator from Palmdale to Patuxent
River several years ago.
"Triton is the Navy's largest, most advanced unmanned maritime
surveillance system to cross such a distance," said Mike Mackey, Triton UAS program director,
Northrop Grumman. "The successful flight was the result of a
Navy/Northrop Grumman team effort, from finishing a major software
package to managing equipment inspections."
Over the next few weeks, two other Tritons, one of which is a
demonstration aircraft owned by Northrop Grumman, will also fly to
Patuxent River. Both will be used
during system development and demonstration tests.
Triton is specifically designed for maritime missions of up to
24 hours. It can fly at altitudes higher than 10 miles, allowing
for coverage of 1 million square nautical miles of ocean, in a
single mission.
The latest Triton product news and information from Northrop
Grumman is available at http://www.northropgrumman.com/Triton.
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.
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SOURCE Northrop Grumman Corporation