Jacksonville, Key West being considered as Navy surveillance drone sites

Jacksonville and Key West are two sites being considered by the Navy as possible locations for its new squadron of unmanned aerial surveillance drones.

The three sites the Navy is considering are Naval Station Mayport in Jacksonville, Naval Air Station Key West in the Florida Keys and the NASA Flight Facility in Wallops Island, Virginia.

The announcement comes from U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, who is touting Florida as the best choice.

“Both installations meet the requirements established by the Department of the Navy as current operations at both airfields are compatible with MQ-4C operations, both airfields provide direct access to overwater operating areas without land overflight, and both installations have existing airfield facilities with the capacity and capability to meet the start-up and on-going operation schedule of the MQ-4C,” said Nelson in letter to the Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus.

In other words, both Key West and Jacksonville are in close proximity to both the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea and there are ongoing unmanned aircraft operations already being performed at the Florida sites.

The Navy’s MQ-4C Triton unmanned aerial vehicle is capable of flying for more than 24 hours at a time and surveying over 2.7 million square miles in a single mission. It’s used to provide sailors and Naval officers with real-time intelligence and surveillance, as well as assist in maritime search and rescue operations.

In addition to eight Triton drones, up to 400 sailors and their families would also be stationed at the Navy’s selected location.