Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton

The Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) under development for the United States Navy as a surveillance aircraft. Developed under the Broad Area Maritime Surveillance (BAMS) program, the system is intended to provide continuous maritime surveillance for the US Navy, and to complement the Boeing P-8 Poseidon, the Boeing 737-based Multimission Maritime Aircraft (MMA).

The system is expected to enter service around 2015. Around 40 UAVs will be based at various sites - including Hawaii; Diego Garcia; NAS Jacksonville, Florida; Kadena Air Base, Japan; NAS Point Mugu, California, and NAS Sigonella, Italy. The Air Force Times reported on September 14, 2012, that the system will also be stationed at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam.

Development

Contract competition

The competitors for the contract included:

Boeing, with an unmanned version of the Gulfstream G550 business jet. It was optionally manned and has "commonality with other Boeing-built naval aircraft."

Northrop Grumman, with a marinized RQ-4 Global Hawk. In order to begin testing the surveillance package early, Northrop Grumman contracted with Flight Test Associates of the Mojave Spaceport to modify a Grumman Gulfstream II as a flying testbed.

Lockheed Martin, with a General Atomics Mariner

On 22 April 2008, Northrop Grumman received the Broad Area Maritime Surveillance contract worth $1.16 billion. Lockheed Martin filed a formal protest with the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) two weeks later. On August 11, 2008 the GAO ruled to uphold the Navy’s selection of Northrop Grumman. In September 2010, the BAMS aircraft was designated the MQ-4C.

Initial development

Official unveiling took place on June 14, 2012 at Palmdale, California. During the event, it was announced that the Navy had approved the name "Triton" for the aircraft. First flight is expected by the end of 2012, followed by test flights at Edwards AFB and NAS Patuxent River. Initial Operational Capability is planned for December 2015.

The US Navy plans a fleet of 68 MQ-4Cs and 117 Boeing P-8As to replace the aging P-3 Orion force.

Specifications

General characteristics:

Crew: Unmanned, 4 per ground station

Length: 47.6 ft in (14.5 m)

Wingspan: 130.9 ft in (39.9 m)

Height: 15.3 ft in (4.7 m)

Gross weight: 32,250 lb (14,628.4 kg)

Powerplant: 1 × Rolls-Royce AE 3007 turbofan, 6,495-8,917 lbf (28.9-39.7 kN)

Performance:

Maximum speed: 357 mph (575 km/h)

Endurance: 30 hours

Service ceiling: 60,000 ft (18,288 m)

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