U.S Navy’s $200 Million MQ-4C Triton Drone Goes Missing Over Strait Of Hormuz

The $200 million MQ-4C Triton, a surveillance drone of the U.S. Navy, vanished during a routine intelligence mission in the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz.

The incident occurred after it had completed its patrol and was returning to its base at Naval Air Station Sigonella, Italy.

The unmanned aircraft declared an in-flight emergency and sent the code 7700, after which it began to descend.

Then it mysteriously disappeared from the radar.

Some are saying that Iran might have shot it down, or it might have suffered from a technical failure, or simply could not be tracked when it entered a contested airspace, but nothing has been confirmed yet.

This is significant because MQ-4C Triton is one of the most advanced unmanned aircraft of the U.S Navy.

It is built to fly at high altitude, above 50,000 feet and can stay airborne for more than 24 hours. The uncrewed aircraft helps America monitor the vast oceans with the help of its extremely sensitive sensors and radar systems.

Given its capabilities, it is often called the U.S Navy’s “eyes over the ocean,” as it also supports patrolling aircraft and naval forces stationed in the Middle East and Indo-Pacific.

Till now, the U.S Navy or Pentagon have not issued any statement on the incident.

However, this is a loss for the Navy as the drone was one of its most strategic assets deployed in the region where the U.S is engaged in a tussle with Iran.

The naval warfare and ship attacks in the last few weeks have made the Strait of Hormuz the most militarised maritime chokepoint in the world.

The U.S is spending around $10,300 every second on this war, with munitions and missiles making up most of this amount, around $320 million daily, followed by air missions, which cost $245 million every day and naval action, adding another $155 million every 24 hours.

Missile defences, including THAAD, BMD interceptors and Patriot batteries, cost $95 million per day. The expenses on cyber operations and intelligence missions are $45 million, while logistics and personnel costs add $30 million every day.