Northrop Grumman begins production of Triton UAS fuselage
NewsNovember 15, 2012
Moss Point, Mississippi – Northrop Grumman began production on the fuselage of the newest line of Navy Unmanned Aerial System (UAS), the Triton high-altitude surveillance drone, on Tuesday at their Unmanned Systems Center in Moss Point, Mississippi. Upon completion, Triton platforms will be able to maintain flight times of up to 24 hours across distances of up to 2,000 miles.
The Triton platform is designed to reach altitudes of 11 vertical miles. Northrop is under a Navy contract for 68 platforms, which will be assembled in Palmdale, California after the fuselage is complete. Two test aircraft have been completed, with the remainder scheduled to finish production in the fall of 2014.
Triton and the P-8 Poseidon are intended as replacements for the long-serving P-3 aircraft.
