SERVICE MEMORIES

On 7 February 2013 the Navy announced that it would stand up VUP-19 at NAS Jacksonville, Florida, in 2014, to eventually operate the MQ-4C Triton. A detachment of VUP-19 will also be established at NAS Point Mugu, California. VUP-19 will fall under the administrative control of Commander, Patrol and Reconnaissance Wing 11 (CPRW-11) at NAS Jacksonville, where an MQ-4C mission control facility is also under construction, and will initially operate the Triton on intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) missions for the U.S. 5th Fleet in the Southwest Asia/Middle East/East Africa region, the U.S. 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean and eastern Atlantic, the U.S. 7th Fleet in the Western Pacific and Indian Ocean, and U.S. Fleet Forces Command in western Atlantic operations. The Navy originally planned to activate a second Triton squadron, VUP-11, in 2014 to take over operations in the Pacific in support of U.S. 7th Fleet and share U.S. 5th Fleet operations with VUP-19, but this has been delayed pending VUP-19 attaining initial operational capability.[1]

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