A Crazy Expensive U.S. Drone Just Disappeared Over Strait Of Hormuz [View all]

Source: Forbes

On 9th April a U.S. Navy MQ-4C Triton reconnaissance drone on patrol in the Strait of Hormuz turned towards Iran, emitted an automated “code 7700” alert – a general signal used for any aircraft in distress -- and fell rapidly from 52,000 feet. When it dropped below 10,000 feet the signal from its transponder was lost.

The event was tracked on open-source flight tracker FlightRadar. There has not yet been official confirmation whether the drone crashed, was shot down by an Iranian missile, or whether it somehow recovered and made it back to base.

The Triton is a big drone, with a larger wingspan than a Boeing 737 airliner. It is also insanely expensive. The loss should raise question about how it got so expensive and whether this role needs such pricey drones.

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By the actual 2024 budget the flyaway cost had – not too surprisingly -- gone up even more, to a staggering $187m per aircraft...which made the sidekick more expensive than the P-8 Poseidon it was supposed to help.



Read more: https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidhambling/2026/04/10/a-crazy-expensive-us-drone-just-disappeared-over-strait-of-hormuz/