Navy expands UAS program: The Navy has been busy developing its arsenal of unmanned aircraft for operations at sea, along the littorals and on shore. This spring Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) will begin basic sensor testing for the Triton, a long-endurance Northrop Grumman UAV intended as a theater asset. Likewise, the MQ-8B Fire Scout is deploying on a littoral combat ship, and the unmanned helicopter's larger C model has completed sea tests aboard a destroyer. Finally, the tactical catapult-launched Blackjack is currently undergoing low-rate initial production.
Still, there's much to go before the true value of these unmanned aircraft will be understood. "I think we're just on the cusp of the learning curve [with regard to unmanned aircraft]," said CAPT Christopher Corgnati, Airborne ISR branch head within the Office of the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Information Dominance's Battlespace Awareness Division. "The next five years are going to be crucial for the Navy, when Triton hits the fleet and Fire Scout starts showing up in numbers."
MQ-4C Triton
The Navy's plan to develop the MQ-4C Triton, a maritime version of the Air Force's RQ-4 Global Hawk, is on track despite a recent cut in its fiscal 2015 budget, said Sean Burke, program manager for the Persistent Maritime Unmanned Aircraft Systems program office.
With an operational range of 8,200 nautical miles and air endurance of 24-36 hours, the MQ-4C is expected to support the Navy's active numbered fleets from five land bases across the globe. Tritons stationed on these bases will form orbits, each comprising four platforms.
