Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
U.S. Navy, Northrop Grumman Near Delivery of Baseline Triton
The Navy's baseline MQ-4C Triton was supposed to come with sense-and-avoid radar, but that capability has been postponed to a 2024 upgrade.
Baseline MQ-4C features the MFAS maritime radar, EO/IR turret, automatic identification system, ESM. (Photo: Northrop Grumman)
Baseline MQ-4C features the MFAS maritime radar, EO/IR turret, automatic identification system, ESM. (Photo: Northrop Grumman)

The U.S. Navy’s MQ-4C Triton program expects to deliver the first baseline configuration aircraft to the service later this year, with an upgraded version capable of collecting signals intelligence (SIGINT) due to follow in 2021 to succeed the Lockheed EP-3E Aries. It has postponed adding a “sense-and-avoid” radar to the unmanned aircraft until an incremental upgrade planned in 2024.