Triton drone crash amid Iran war confirmed by Navy data

Colin Demarest

Inside a hangar, a large white and grey aircraft fuselage with a red panel sits on the tarmac. A tow tractor is nearby and a long rod lies on the floor. — An MQ-4C Triton drone at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, in June 2025. Photo: Colin Demarest/Axios

An MQ-4C Triton crashed this month, according to U.S. Navy data and publicly available flight logs.

Why it matters: At roughly $240 million a pop, the Northrop Grumman-made maritime surveillance drone is among the single priciest losses amid the Iran war.

Driving the news: Naval Safety Command's latest aviation mishaps report mentioned a Triton going down April 9 but withheld the location, citing security. No one was injured.

The drone vanished from flight-tracking sites while near the Persian Gulf, as first reported by The War Zone. It rapidly lost altitude ahead of the online disappearance.

State of play: Northrop, as of the summer, had delivered 20 Tritons to the Navy. It had sent three to Australia and was building a fourth in Mississippi, as well.

The massive drone, with a 130-foot wingspan, is capable of flying at altitudes above 50,000 feet for more than 24 hours.
It can also pair with Boeing-made P-8 aircraft, which hunt submarines.

The other side: U.S. Central Command did not answer questions from Axios. Northrop declined to comment.

Go deeper: Iran war costs grow as key U.S. systems are knocked out

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Triton drone crash amid Iran war confirmed by Navy data

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