The U.S. Navy and giant defense contractor Northrop Grumman announced that their next massive spy drone has completed its first nine initial test flights, the first significant step toward future deployment.
The MQ-4C drone is nicknamed Triton, after the Greek god who worked as the messenger of Poseidon, the god of the sea. Just like its mythological counterpart, Triton will assist the P-8A Poseidon, Boeing's manned war plane; it is supposedly the heir of the older RQ-4 Global Hawk, which took off for the first time in 1998.
See also: U.S. Army's New Cost-Saving Laser Can Shoot Down Drones
The Triton was unveiled in June of 2012 and flew for the first time almost a year later, on May 22, 2013. Now, the Navy has ordered 68 Tritons at a cost of $1.16 billion.
On paper, the Triton is an enormous high-tech flying robot. It has the wingspan of a Boeing 757 commercial airplane (130.9 feet) and Northrop says it can fly for up to 24 hours. Up until now, though, the Triton has only reached 9.4 hours of "endurance flights" at 50,00 feet.
Various factors make the Triton a surveillance plane with impressive capabilities: its planned range, a sensor that provides a 360-degree view of its surroundings at a radius of over 2,000 nautical miles, and a speed of of 331 knots (380 mph).
But don't hold your breath: The deployment of the spy drone is already two years behind schedule.
The Navy expected the Triton to reach "initial operating capability" by 2015, according to an archived page on the Naval Air Systems Command's website. A new version of the site, however, states that the drone will be ready by 2017 — without acknowledging the delay.
Triton was also supposed to have a "sense and avoid" system on board, allowing it to automatically dodge other planes — a critical security feature. But in August 2013, the U.S. Navy suspended development of that system, which was behind schedule and over budget.
This is not the first time that a Northrop Grumman spy drone has been delayed. The MQ-8 Fire Scout, a smaller helicopter drone, was significantly behind schedule as well. The MQ-8B Fire Scout was delayed by 19 months in December 2012.
While the Navy waits, Northrop has released a video of the drone cruising the skies:


Image: Alan Radecki/Northrop Grumman Corp.