Unmanned aerial vehicles will serve the US Navy

The 14-ton drone called Triton, manufactured by Northrop Grumman, completed a test flight across the United States. This was part of the test process before Triton entered the US Navy service.

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Photo: aviationnews.eu

The flight lasted 11 hours and was over 6,093km. Triton's route is along the southern border of the United States, the Gulf of Mexico, through Florida, to the Atlantic coast to Chesapeake Bay.

Triton maintained a height of 15,240m to avoid civilian aircraft. The aircraft is powered by a Rolls-Royce AE 3007H turbofan engine and propeller, designed to carry out surveillance tasks for up to 24 hours.

Gizmag magazine said that to date, Triton has completed 15 test flights showing its ability to operate safely. The US Navy said in the coming time, Triton is planning to carry out a series of extended tests specifically for sensors, communications and interoperability.

Triton is expected to officially join the US Navy in 2017.