The US Navy’s MQ-4C Triton UAS equipped with a new search radar completed its inaugural flight on April 18 over Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, USA, airspace.
The radar, known as the Multi-Function Active Sensor (MFAS), is expected to greatly enhance maritime domain awareness by providing the MQ-4C with a 360° view of a large geographic area while providing all-weather coverage to expedite detecting, classifying, tracking and identifying points of interest.
“This first sensor flight is a huge achievement for the program,” said Sean Burke, Triton program manager. “Our Navy and Northrop Grumman team has worked extremely hard on this developmental effort, completing more than 40 surrogate flights over the last three years, and we saw the realization of that development work.”
During this initial test event, MFAS exercised its primary operating mode, known as Maritime Surface Surveillance (MSS). The MSS mode provides continuous watch over a broad area.
April 21, 2015
