American MQ-4C Triton Reconnaissance Drone Disappears from Radar Over the Strait of Hormuz

On February 22, an American MQ-4C Triton reconnaissance drone disappeared over the Strait of Hormuz after taking off from an airbase in the UAE.

The website Flightradar24 recorded the last minutes of the flight of the aircraft with registration number 169660 and call sign OVRLD1.

The American drone was gathering intelligence near Iranian territory.

During the flight, Triton transmitted code 7700, which means an emergency situation, and then disappeared from the radars.

The Defence Network suggests that Russian or Chinese electronic warfare systems in Iran’s arsenal could have jammed its signal.

Three American MQ-4C Triton drones are stationed at Al Dhafra Air Base in the UAE.

On February 25, the US military sent another MQ-4C Triton on a reconnaissance mission, which flew for several hours southeast of the Iranian coast.

For several hours, it flew over international waters in the Gulf of Oman near Iran.

The MQ-4C Triton, a long-range, high-altitude reconnaissance UAV, is capable of providing real-time information on large ocean and coastal areas.

It can stay in the air for over 30 hours, flying at an altitude of up to 17,000 meters at a speed of up to 610 km/h.

In 2025, the US discovered problems with the MQ-4C Triton drones that could hinder their combat use.

Despite additional funding of $83.1 million to upgrade two aircraft to the latest version, the Navy plans to request additional funds to fix the problems across its entire drone fleet.