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Thursday, Mar 28, 2024
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Northrop’s Triton Takes Flight

An unmanned aircraft built by Northrop Grumman Corp. in Palmdale completed a flight to Maryland where it will undergo further testing. The MQ-4C Triton aircraft finished the 11-hour flight from the Antelope Valley to Naval Air Station Patuxent River on Thursday. The plane was built for the U.S. Navy. Two additional Triton aircraft will fly from Palmdale to the Patuxent River base in coming weeks. “Triton is one of the Navy’s most significant investments in unmanned aircraft systems to date and we look forward to evaluating its capabilities,” said Capt. James Hoke, Triton program manager, Naval Air Systems Command, in a prepared statement. The Triton aircraft is based on the Global Hawk unmanned aircraft made by Northrop but with improvements to the airframe and wings to fly over the ocean where it will provide surveillance of ships and submarine vessels. Triton is capable of flying for 24 hours at an altitude of more than 10 miles above Earth. Northrop will produce more than 60 of the aircraft for the Navy at a cost of more than $3 billion. Triton will be used in conjunction with the Boeing P-8 Poseidon anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare aircraft.

Mark Madler
Mark Madler
Mark R. Madler covers aviation & aerospace, manufacturing, technology, automotive & transportation, media & entertainment and the Antelope Valley. He joined the company in February 2006. Madler previously worked as a reporter for the Burbank Leader. Before that, he was a reporter for the City News Bureau of Chicago and several daily newspapers in the suburban Chicago area. He has a bachelor’s of science degree in journalism from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

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