Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
No Clear Plan for Triton 'Due Regard' Radar, Navy Says
Due-regard rader will make the Triton capable of detecting aircraft not equipped with a transponder or not using it to avoid detection.
The U.S. Navy has not resolved the technical challenge of fitting a 'due regard' radar on the MQ-4C Triton maritime surveillance aircraft. (Image: Northrop Grumman)
The U.S. Navy has not resolved the technical challenge of fitting a 'due regard' radar on the MQ-4C Triton maritime surveillance aircraft. (Image: Northrop Grumman)

The U.S. Navy has not determined how to fit a “due regard” radar on its unmanned MQ-4C Triton, which will likely start initial operations in 2017 without the subsystem intended to help protect it from midair collisions. But the Triton will enter service with more capability than any other unmanned aircraft to “detect and avoid” other aircraft, the Navy’s program manager asserts.