VIDEO: US Navy’s New Triton Drone Makes First Flight Over California and Can Fly At 60,000 Feet (11 Miles)

The U.S. Navy’s long awaited MQ-4C Triton surveillance drone took its first flight yesterday in Palmdale, California. The MQ-4C will be the main Naval spying drone at sea starting in 2015. It can fly for 24 hours at twice the altitude of a commercial jet, reaching a maximum height of 60,000 feet (11 miles). The Triton can travel 11,000+ miles before it needs refueling. Along with its 360-degree scanning, it can capture images or full motion video at high resolution. It has one Rolls-Royce engine, bird-strike resistant wings and the whole Drone weighs 32,250 pounds, has a wingspan of 131 feet and a height of over 15 feet. They are reporting that the drone will last about 6 years before needing a new airframe. See a video of its first flight ever below: