Uncrewed aircraft
MQ-4C Triton
- Milestones0
- Operators—
- Components—
- Programs—
- Capabilities—
- Inputs—
Photo: U.S. Navy · Public domain (PD-USGov) · An MQ-4C Triton during a test flight with a multi-intelligence upgrade. Resized and reencoded as WebP; no additional crop.
Timeline
No milestones recorded for MQ-4C Triton yet. The timeline fills in as unveilings, tests, contracts and deliveries are sourced.
Cost to the Government
Aircraft · Northrop Grumman
MQ-4C Triton
Maritime surveillance aircraft with separate baseline-aircraft and multi-intelligence upgrade increments; modification quantities overlap the same fleet.
Increment 1 average procurement / aircraft
$270.237M
2023-12 MSAR; PB2025 · Then-year USD
Procurement divided by 22 procurement aircraft. Development aircraft and R&D are excluded from this APUC.
Department of Defense ↗Cumulative deliveries reported
18
2023 MSAR executive summary / FY2024 · U.S. only
Executive summary reports 18 deliveries. This is not a mission-capable inventory; source reporting periods vary by section.
Department of Defense ↗Increment 1 acquisition quantity
27
PB2025 · U.S. only
Five development plus 22 procurement aircraft; do not add Increment 2 modification quantities.
Department of Defense ↗Increment 1 R&D total
$5.534B
PB2025 · Then-year USD
Increment 2 development is separately shown below; this is not the combined program total.
Department of Defense ↗Cost & funding breakdown
Increment 1 program acquisition / aircraft
$438.417M
PB2025 · Then-year USD
Includes R&D, procurement and military construction across 27 aircraft.
Department of Defense ↗Increment 2 R&D total
$1.421B
PB2025 · Then-year USD
Separate multi-intelligence capability development.
Department of Defense ↗Increment 2 average procurement / modification
$73.099M
PB2025 · Then-year USD
Procurement average for 24 modifications, not a new aircraft.
Department of Defense ↗Increment 2 development and procurement modifications
26
PB2025 · U.S. only
Two development and 24 procurement modifications; these overlap Increment 1 airframes.
Department of Defense ↗Preventing double-counting
Increment 1 acquires the aircraft; Increment 2 modifies the fleet for additional intelligence missions. Adding both quantities would overstate the number of aircraft. Their R&D totals and procurement unit measures must remain separate.
Operations & sustainment
Reimbursement / flight hour
$11,028 / hr
FY2026 · Nominal USD; Other DoD Component
Published billing rate for use by another DoD component. It is not the fully burdened cost of ownership.
DoD Comptroller ↗Cost over time · 3 observations
Each row retains its original scope and dollar basis. Changing quantities, service life and inflation can change the estimate without changing the price of building one unit.
| Observation | Measure | Amount | Dollar basis | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-12 MSAR; PB2025 | Increment 1 average procurement / aircraft Procurement divided by 22 procurement aircraft. Development aircraft and R&D are excluded from this APUC. | $270.237M | Then-year USD | Department of Defense ↗ |
| FY2026 | Reimbursement / flight hour Published billing rate for use by another DoD component. It is not the fully burdened cost of ownership. | $11,028 / hr | Nominal USD; Other DoD Component | DoD Comptroller ↗ |
| PB2025 | Increment 1 R&D total Increment 2 development is separately shown below; this is not the combined program total. | $5.534B | Then-year USD | Department of Defense ↗ |
Contracts & purchasing · 1 records
Award values, ceilings and purchase agreements have different meanings. These records are not added together as total spending.
2017-12-28 · Lot 3 current target price in MSAR
U.S. Navy → Northrop Grumman
$344.5M · 3 units in scope
Contract N00019-17-C-0018; reported current target, not original obligation or lifecycle cost.
Department of Defense ↗
International buyers
No international purchase documented in this review.
Coverage & open research
- Figures retain the date and scope of the original source. A historical count, cumulative delivery or procurement plan is not today’s mission-capable inventory.
Unit costs and contract unit prices for this system, and budget figures for the programs that buy it. Each figure states its dollar basis and links its source; contract values are under Programs & awards.