fredag 17. desember 2021

Drone - Triton på Guam sendes hjem til Jax for oppgradering - Defense News


Triton er liksom Global Hawk, ubevæpnede droner som brukes for overvåking. NATO opererer Global Hawk fra Sigonella på Sicilia. Triton samarbeider med USN P-8A og overflatefartøyer.. (Red.)



US Navy Triton UAV returns from Guam, ahead of transition to more capable variant

By Megan Eckstein

 Dec 16, 04:56 PM


An MQ-4C Triton unmanned aircraft system (UAS) sits in a hangar at Andersen Air Force Base after arriving for a deployment as part of an early operational capability (EOC) test to further develop the concept of operations and fleet learning associated with operating a high-altitude, long-endurance system in the maritime domain. Unmanned Patrol Squadron (VUP) 19, the first Triton UAS squadron, will operate and maintain two aircraft in Guam under Commander, Task Force (CTF) 72. (Senior Airman Ryan Brooks/U.S. Air Force)

WASHINGTON — One of two U.S. Navy MQ-4C Triton unmanned aerial vehicles operating in the Pacific for the last two years has returned home, allowing the service to move forward with Triton development and fielding.

Unmanned Patrol Squadron (VUP) 19, the Navy’s first Triton squadron, began an “early operational capability” deployment in January 2020, sending two air vehicles to Guam to operate under U.S. 7th Fleet’s Task Force 72. About 200 sailors have rotated in and out of theater, working in detachments of about 40 sailors at a time, to support the two large, high-altitude surveillance drones.

Now, one vehicle remains in theater and the other returned home to Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Fla., on Dec. 16. With an air vehicle at home, community leaders say, VUP-19 can focus on training ahead of receiving an upgraded multi-intelligence variant of the aircraft in 2022 and then preparing for the Navy to declare initial operational capability (IOC) in 2023.

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