Wallops Island Among Three Sites In Running For Navy’s Unmanned Aircraft Initiative

SNOW HILL – County officials added their support this week to a bid to bring the Triton unmanned aircraft to NASA’s Wallops Island Flight Facility.

The Worcester County Commissioners on Tuesday agreed to draft a letter of support for the effort to bring the U.S. Navy’s MQ-4C Triton unmanned aircraft to Wallops Island. The facility is one of three locations under consideration for the project, which would bring 400 new jobs to Virginia’s Eastern Shore.

Delegate Mary Beth Carozza and Senator Jim Mathias were both in attendance to voice their support of the initiative.

“Triton’s the future,” Mathias said. “It’s critically important that we do this.”

The Wallops Island Regional Alliance, a non-profit dedicated to protecting and promoting the flight facility, is working to gain tri-state support for bringing the Triton to Wallops Island. The Navy is currently considering the Virginia facility, which is located 45 miles from Ocean City, as well as two sites in Florida, according to Merry Mears, the county’s economic development director.

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