US Navy cleared new surveillance drone for operations despite flaws, audit finds

The US Navy approved its newest unmanned surveillance aircraft for operations despite unresolved technical problems, according to a Defense Department watchdog.

“These aircraft have deficiencies that could prevent them from accomplishing missions,” the Pentagon’s Inspector General wrote in a September 4 report on the MQ-4C Triton program.

According to Breaking Defense, the review also noted the Navy has already spent $83.1 million retrofitting two aircraft and will need to invest more to correct outstanding issues.

The MQ-4C Triton, built by Northrop Grumman, is designed for long-range intelligence collection. Since its launch in 2008, 20 aircraft have been delivered out of a planned 27.

Auditors said the Navy “did not effectively manage the operational capabilities” of the program and moved ahead with declaring Initial Operational Capability (IOC) in August 2023, a milestone that signals readiness for early use, despite multiple known deficiencies.

“This occurred because the Navy determined that the MQ-4C Triton was beneficial to the fleet despite the open deficiencies and therefore declared Initial Operational Capability [IOC] in August 2023 before conducting” required testing, the report stated.

In response, senior Navy official Robert Kimble said the service is working to address remaining problems and expects to complete operational testing by November 2025.

He “partially concurred” with the recommendation to limit declarations of readiness before testing, arguing that policy allows managers to balance risk with the need for new capabilities.

By Sabina Mammadli