MQ-4C Triton

House Armed Services Committee Adds Money for EPF, Footstomps Need for Second Virginia SSN

Moon over U.S. Capitol on Nov. 13, 2016. NASA Photo

The House Armed Services Committee reiterated its support for Navy shipbuilding today in an all-day markup of its annual defense bill, voting to include money for an additional Expeditionary Fast Transport (EPF) and issuing an opening argument to the Senate for an additional Virginia-class attack submarine.

A key difference in the House and Senate versions of the Fiscal Year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act is the Virginia SSN program....

Navy MQ-4 Triton Flying Operational Missions From Guam

Navy MQ-4C Triton taxis at Andersen Air Force Base on April 29, 2020. US Navy Photo

Almost three months after arriving in Guam, a pair of MQ-4C Triton autonomous, unmanned aircraft have integrated into fleet operations and training flights and stretched the Navy’s maritime domain awareness across the Indo-Pacific, according to the Navy.

The Navy is counting on the Triton, which can operate at greater than 50,000-foot altitudes and at the 2,000-mile-plus range, to provide an unmanned platform for...

https://news.usni.org/2020/05/12/navy-mq-4-triton-flying-operational-missions-from-guam

Navy’s First MQ-4C Triton Unmanned Aircraft Deploy To Guam

An MQ-4C Triton unmanned aircraft system (UAS) idles on a runway at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam after arriving for a deployment as part of an early operational capability (EOC) test. US Navy Photo

About a year later than initially expected, the first two MQ-4C Triton unmanned aircraft arrived in Guam over the weekend, marking a significant step toward increasing the Navy’s Western Pacific reconnaissance and surveillance capability, the service announced this weekend.

The two Tritons are part of...

https://news.usni.org/2020/01/27/navys-first-mq-4c-triton-unmanned-aircraft-deploy-to-guam

Report: Fight Against China Requires Navy to Field Modern Unmanned Eyes In The Sky

“A fleet without eyes cannot fight,” said Seth Cropsey, a senior fellow at the Washington think tank, quoting the maxim when discussing the report he co-authored, “If You Can’t See ‘Em, You Can’t Shoot ‘Em.”

The U.S. needs long-range and persistent eyes to provide intelligence, reconnaissance, surveillance and targeting (ISR/T) “before conflict.” The rationale, Cropsey said, is that today Beijing “can concentrate forces” quickly to strike Taiwan or assert its will in the South China Sea using...

https://news.usni.org/2019/12/17/report-fight-against-china-requires-navy-to-field-modern-unmanned-eyes-in-the-sky

Navy RQ-4A Surveillance Drone Suffers Major Damage in Middle East

Undated file photo provided by Northrop Grumman, a Navy RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle conducts tests over Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md.

A Navy surveillance drone suffered major damage during a takeoff attempt while operating in the Middle East, Navy officials confirmed to USNI News on Thursday.

The service’s $180-million RQ-4A Broad Area Maritime Surveillance Demonstrator (BAMS-D) was attempting to take off from a runway in U.S. Central Command and was hit by a piece of debris...

https://news.usni.org/2019/12/12/navy-rq-4a-surveillance-drone-suffers-major-damage-in-middle-east

Iran Shoots Down $120M Navy Surveillance Drone in ‘Unprovoked Attack’; U.S. Disputes Claims it was Over Iranian Airspace

An undated photo of RQ-4A BAMS-D flying over Maryland. Northrop Grumman photo.

A Navy high-altitude surveillance unmanned aerial vehicle was shot down by a surface-to-air missile in the vicinity of the Strait of Hormuz by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, the IRGC announced on Thursday.

The IRGC claimed the UAV was operating over Iranian airspace and that the shootdown was to send a “clear message” to Washington, said IRGC commander Gen. Hossein Salami, according to ABC.

“The message is that...

https://news.usni.org/2019/06/20/iran-shoots-down-120m-navy-surveillance-drone-in-unprovoked-attack-u-s-disputes-claims-it-was-over-iranian-airspace

CNO Richardson Wants Aggressive Timelines for New Weapons, Operational Concepts in Updated Navy ‘Design’

Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Adm. John Richardson visits Indonesia to meet with Indonesia navy leadership and to reaffirm the U.S. Navy’s commitment to strengthen the strategic partnership between the U.S. and Indonesia on Oct. 20, 2018. US Navy Photo

Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson lays out aggressive acquisition goals and overhauls in how the Navy develops new technologies and implements operating concepts in a sweeping 2.0 revision of his Design for Maintaining Maritime...

https://news.usni.org/2018/12/17/cno-richardson-calls-aggressive-timelines-new-weapons-operational-concepts-updated-navy-design

Navy Stand-Down of Triton Drones Will Continue Until Crash Investigation Concludes

The MQ-4C Triton unmanned aircraft system completes its inaugural cross-country ferry flight at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md. Triton took off from the Northrop Grumman Palmdale, Calif. facility Sept. 17, 2014. US Navy photo.

The Navy will continue its stand-down of unmanned MQ-4C Triton operations in the wake of a crash in California until the investigation into the mishap is complete.

A Triton conducting operational testing ahead of a deployment to Guam later this year crashed near Naval...

https://news.usni.org/2018/09/21/navy-stand-triton-operations-will-continue-mishap-investigation-wraps

Navy Pauses Operations of MQ-4C Triton Squadron After Crash-Landing This Week

The MQ-4C Triton unmanned aircraft system approaches the runway at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md., after completing its inaugural cross-country flight from California on Sept. 18, 2014. US Navy photo.

The Navy’s Unmanned Patrol Squadron (VUP) 19 is temporarily standing down operations while it investigates the crash of an MQ-4C Triton in California this week.

A Triton conducting operational testing out of Naval Base Ventura County in California on Wednesday “had an issue during flight and...

https://news.usni.org/2018/09/14/navy-pauses-operations-mq-4c-triton-squadron-crash-landing-week

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