Northrop Grumman announced on 6 February that it has successfully completed testing of the third MQ-4C Triton high-altitude long endurance unmanned aerial vehicle (HALE UAV) ordered by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) at its Palmdale facility.
The company noted that it is preparing to ferry the aircraft to the US Navy in Patuxent River, Maryland, where it will join the RAAF’s second Triton UAV for calibration testing before delivery of both aircraft to Australia in 2025. Further flight testing and validation are planned.
Other key programme milestones include delivery of the the ‘Trailerised’ Forward Operating Base, which is the initial ground ‘Mission Control Station’ for the MQ-4C Triton to RAAF Base Tindal in Australia’s Northern Territory, in January 2024.
According to the DoD, the MQ-4C Triton will support long-range, persistent surveillance across Australia’s maritime approaches and its broader areas of interest and complement the RAAF’s Boeing P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft fleet as a ‘family of systems’ that will offer improved intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) performance.
When in service, the MQ-4C Triton aircraft will be based at RAAF Base Tindal, Northern Territory, and operated by the Air Force’s reformed 9 Squadron, located at RAAF Base Edinburgh, South Australia.
Australia earlier announced plans to acquire a fourth high-altitude long endurance Triton UAV along with upgrades to its P-8A fleet.
In addition, the DoD has signed of an Interim Sustainment Support Contract with Northrop Grumman Australia valued at A$220 million aimed at growing the Triton maintenance workforce at RAAF Base Tindal and RAAF Base Edinburgh.
“Australia’s air force is collaborating with Northrop Grumman and the US Navy to field the most advanced maritime intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and targeting capability available today,” said the company.
by Jr Ng
