This morning, around 10:00 CET, an unusual guest landed at NAS Sigonella. For the first time, a US Navy Northrop Grumman MQ-4C “Triton” (reg. 169659, c/s TRITON16) arrived at the Sicilian base from NAS Mayport, where it had departed yesterday around 19:30 CET.
NAS Sigonella already hosts other drones, including the USAF Global Hawk, the USAF Reaper, and NATO’s Phoenix (a specific version of the Global Hawk).
The MQ-4C Triton is the US Navy’s only high-altitude, long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle conducting persistent maritime intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, and targeting operations. Five have been delivered, with the latest joining the US Navy’s fleet last June. In September 2023, the Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton drone achieved Initial Operational Capability (IOC) with the US Navy.
This is its first deployment in the Mediterranean, and in the coming days, we will see where it will be employed, particularly if it will carry out similar missions to those currently performed by the Global Hawks based in Sicily.