Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton vs Tupolev Tu-141

Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton — licensed reference photograph

ADrones & 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

BDrones & UAVs

Tupolev Tu-141

Remotely-controlled, UAV

Credit

Bernhard Gröhl · CC BY 2.5 · Resized · CC BY 2.5 · Source ↗ · Modified

First system

Second system

At a glance

Side by side

Length comparisonOne shared metre scale

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

14.5 m

Length source ↗

Tupolev Tu-141Length

14.33 m

Length source ↗

Lengths retain their source configuration and measurement scope.

Measured figures

Head to head

19 of 25 rows sourced on both sides

14.5mMQ-4C · Length

14.33m

Length

All recorded figures & sources

14.5 m

MQ-4C · Length

Single source

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

14.33 m

Length

Single source

14.33 m (47 ft 0.25 in)^[source]

39.9mMQ-4C · Wingspan

3.88m

Wingspan

All recorded figures & sources

39.9 m

MQ-4C · Wingspan

Single source

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

3.88 m

Wingspan

Single source

3.88 m (12 ft 8.5 in)^[source]

4.6mMQ-4C · Height

2.44m

Height

All recorded figures & sources

4.6 m

MQ-4C · Height

Single source

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

2.44 m

Height

Single source

2.44 m (8 ft 0 in)^[source]

14.6tGross; MQ-4C · Gross weight

6.2tGross; Gross weight

MassScopes differ

All recorded figures & sources

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]

6,215 kg

Gross; Gross weight

Single source

6,215 kg (13,702 lb)^[source]

575km/hMaximum; MQ-4C · Maximum speed

1,100km/hMaximum; Maximum speed

SpeedScopes differ

All recorded figures & sources

575 km/h

Maximum; MQ-4C · Maximum speed

Single source

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

1,000 km/h

Cruise; Cruise speed

Single source

1,100 km/h

Maximum; Maximum speed

Single source

1,100 km/h (683 mph, 594 kn)^[source]

1,000 km/h (620 mph, 540 kn)^[source]

15,200kmMQ-4C · Range

1,000km

Range

All recorded figures & sources

15,200 km

MQ-4C · Range

Single source

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

1,000 km

Range

Single source

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

28.89–39.66kN

19.6kN1 × Tumansky KR-17A thrust

ThrustScopes differ

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]

19.6 kN

1 × Tumansky KR-17A thrust

Single source

1 × Tumansky KR-17A , 19.6 kN (4,409 lbf) thrust^[source]

30hMQ-4C · Endurance

—

Endurance

All recorded figures & sources

30 h

MQ-4C · Endurance

Single source

30 hours^[source]

17,000mMQ-4C · Service ceiling

6,000m

Service ceiling

All recorded figures & sources

17,000 m

MQ-4C · Service ceiling

Single source

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

6,000 m

Service ceiling

Single source

6,000 m (19,700 ft)^[source]

—

10m²

Wing area

All recorded figures & sources

10 m²

Wing area

Single source

10.0 m 2 (108 sq ft)^[source]

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

Configuration

Details

Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton and Tupolev Tu-141 configuration
Specification	Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton	Tupolev Tu-141
Crew	Unmanned – 4 personnel fly aircraft from ground station^[source]	none^[source]
Type	Maritime unmanned surveillance and reconnaissance aerial vehicle and patrol aircraft^[source]	Remotely-controlled, UAV^[source]
National origin	United States^[source]	Soviet Union^[source]
Manufacturer	Northrop Grumman^[source]	Tupolev^[source]
Status	Limited service^[source]	Active with the Ukrainian armed forces^[source]
Primary users	United States Navy Royal Australian Air Force^[source]	Ukraine Soviet Union (formerly)^[source]
Number built	US: 68 (planned) + 2 prototypes Australia: 3 delivered out of 4 ordered^[source]	152^[source]
Manufactured	48 as of 2024^[source]	1979–1989^[source]
Introduction date	May 2018^[source]	1979^[source]
First flight	22 May 2013 ( 2013-05-22 )^[source]	1974^[source]
Developed from	Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk^[source]	Tupolev Tu-123^[source]
Alternative designation	MQ-4C Triton^[source]	—
Developed into	—	Tupolev Tu-143^[source]
Reported operators	—	Reported operator · Ukraine

FORCETALLY

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Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton

Tupolev Tu-141

Crew

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

none^[source]

Type

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

Remotely-controlled, UAV^[source]

National origin

United States^[source]

Soviet Union^[source]

Manufacturer

Northrop Grumman^[source]

Tupolev^[source]

Status

Limited service^[source]

Active with the Ukrainian armed forces^[source]

Primary users

United States Navy Royal Australian Air Force^[source]

Ukraine Soviet Union (formerly)^[source]

Number built

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

152^[source]

Manufactured

48 as of 2024^[source]

1979–1989^[source]

Introduction date

May 2018^[source]

1979^[source]

First flight

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

1974^[source]

Developed from

Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk^[source]

Tupolev Tu-123^[source]

Alternative designation

MQ-4C Triton^[source]

—

Developed into

—

Tupolev Tu-143^[source]

Reported operators

—

Reported operator · Ukraine