EADS Harfang vs Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton

ADrones & UAVs

EADS Harfang

Unmanned surveillance and reconnaissance aerial vehicle

Credit

Calips · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Resized · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source ↗ · Modified

Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton — licensed reference photograph

BDrones & UAVs

Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton

Maritime unmanned surveillance and reconnaissance aerial vehicle and patrol aircraft

Credit

U.S. Navy · Public domain · Resized · Public domain · Source ↗ · Modified

First system

Second system

At a glance

Side by side

Length comparisonOne shared metre scale

EADS HarfangLength

9.3 m

Length source ↗

Northrop Grumman MQ-4C TritonMQ-4C · Length

14.5 m

Length source ↗

Lengths retain their source configuration and measurement scope.

Measured figures

Head to head

12 of 24 rows sourced on both sides

9.3m

14.5mMQ-4C · Length

Length

All recorded figures & sources

9.3 m

Length

Single source

9.3 m (30 ft 6 in)^[source]

14.5 m

MQ-4C · Length

Single source

47 ft 7 in (14.5 m)^[source]

16.6m

39.9mMQ-4C · Wingspan

Wingspan

All recorded figures & sources

16.6 m

Wingspan

Single source

16.6 m (54 ft 6 in)^[source]

39.9 m

MQ-4C · Wingspan

Single source

130 ft 11 in (39.9 m)^[source]

—

4.6mMQ-4C · Height

Height

All recorded figures & sources

4.6 m

MQ-4C · Height

Single source

15 ft 5 in (4.6 m)^[source]

1.3tMaximum take-off; Max takeoff weight

14.6tGross; MQ-4C · Gross weight

MassScopes differ

All recorded figures & sources

657 kg

Empty; Empty weight

Single source

1,250 kg

Maximum take-off; Max takeoff weight

Single source

657 kg (1,448 lb)^[source]

1,250 kg (2,756 lb)^[source]

6,781 kg

Empty; MQ-4C · Empty weight

Single source

14,630 kg

Gross; MQ-4C · Gross weight

Single source

14,945 lb (6,781 kg)^[source]

32,250 lb (14,630 kg)^[source]

—

575km/hMaximum; MQ-4C · Maximum speed

Speed

All recorded figures & sources

575 km/h

Maximum; MQ-4C · Maximum speed

Single source

357 mph (575 km/h, 320 kn)^[source]

1,000km

15,200kmMQ-4C · Range

Range

All recorded figures & sources

1,000 km

Range

Single source

1,000 km (620 mi, 540 nmi)^[source]

15,200 km

MQ-4C · Range

Single source

9,400 mi (15,200 km, 8,200 nmi)^[source]

86kW

—

Power

All recorded figures & sources

86 kW

1 × Rotax 914F 4-cylinder turbo-charged four-stroke horizontally-opposed piston engine with air-cooled cylinders and liquid-cooled cylinder heads

Single source

1 × Rotax 914F 4-cylinder turbo-charged four-stroke horizontally-opposed piston engine with air-cooled cylinders and liquid-cooled cylinder heads., 86 kW (115 hp)^[source]

—

28.89–39.66kN

Thrust

All recorded figures & sources

28.89–39.66 kN

MQ-4C · 1 × Rolls-Royce AE 3007 turbofan engine thrust

Single source

1 × Rolls-Royce AE 3007 turbofan engine, 6,495–8,917 lbf (28.89–39.66 kN) thrust^[source]

7,620m

17,000mMQ-4C · Service ceiling

Service ceiling

All recorded figures & sources

7,620 m

Service ceiling

Single source

7,620 m (25,000 ft)^[source]

17,000 m

MQ-4C · Service ceiling

Single source

56,000 ft (17,000 m)^[source]

—

30hMQ-4C · Endurance

Endurance

All recorded figures & sources

30 h

MQ-4C · Endurance

Single source

30 hours^[source]

Bars compare reported quantities only. A larger figure does not make a system better; configurations and test conditions differ.

Configuration

Details

EADS Harfang and Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton configuration
Specification	EADS Harfang	Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton
Crew	—	Unmanned – 4 personnel fly aircraft from ground station^[source]
Type	Unmanned surveillance and reconnaissance aerial vehicle^[source]	Maritime unmanned surveillance and reconnaissance aerial vehicle and patrol aircraft^[source]
Manufacturer	EADS and IAI^[source]	Northrop Grumman^[source]
Primary users	French Air Force (historical) Royal Moroccan Air Force^[source]	United States Navy Royal Australian Air Force^[source]
Number built	4^[source]	US: 68 (planned) + 2 prototypes Australia: 3 delivered out of 4 ordered^[source]
Introduction date	June 2008^[source]	May 2018^[source]
First flight	9 September 2006 at Istres-Le Tubé airbase 125^[source]	22 May 2013 ( 2013-05-22 )^[source]
Developed from	IAI Heron^[source]	Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk^[source]
Propellers	2-bladed constant-speed pusher propeller^[source]	—
National origin	—	United States^[source]
Status	—	Limited service^[source]
Manufactured	—	48 as of 2024^[source]
Alternative designation	—	MQ-4C Triton^[source]

FORCETALLY

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EADS Harfang

Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton

Crew

—

Unmanned – 4 personnel fly aircraft from ground station^[source]

Type

Unmanned surveillance and reconnaissance aerial vehicle^[source]

Maritime unmanned surveillance and reconnaissance aerial vehicle and patrol aircraft^[source]

Manufacturer

EADS and IAI^[source]

Northrop Grumman^[source]

Primary users

French Air Force (historical) Royal Moroccan Air Force^[source]

United States Navy Royal Australian Air Force^[source]

Number built

4^[source]

US: 68 (planned) + 2 prototypes Australia: 3 delivered out of 4 ordered^[source]

Introduction date

June 2008^[source]

May 2018^[source]

First flight

9 September 2006 at Istres-Le Tubé airbase 125^[source]

22 May 2013 ( 2013-05-22 )^[source]

Developed from

IAI Heron^[source]

Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk^[source]

Propellers

2-bladed constant-speed pusher propeller^[source]

—

National origin

—

United States^[source]

Status

—

Limited service^[source]

Manufactured

—

48 as of 2024^[source]

Alternative designation

—

MQ-4C Triton^[source]