Northrop Grumman built first MQ-4C Triton for Australia

Northrop Grumman Corporation has unveiled the first Australian autonomous MQ-4C Triton UAV.

The corporation said that Australia is a joint partner in the Triton program and played a crucial role in shaping the requirements for the system.

Northrop Grumman began assembling the first Australian MQ-4C in October 2020 at its Moss Point manufacturing facility in Mississippi.

Triton would provide the Royal Australian Air Force with unprecedented capabilities to monitor and protect shipping lanes.

The drone will operate alongside the P-8A Poseidon marine aircraft, and this unmanned aircraft system will cover significant areas over long distances and will be able to stay airborne longer than a traditional aircraft.

In June 2018, the Prime Minister of Australia announced that Australia would acquire 6 Triton UAVs for the RAAF. In 2020, it became known that Australia would order additional drones of this type.

The first of which is scheduled to be adopted in mid-2023.

The total cost of purchasing, building infrastructure, and providing support is unofficially estimated at $7 billion.

The long-duration high-altitude MQ-4C Triton drone is the marine version of the Northrop Grumman-developed RQ-4N Block 30 Global Hawk drone.

It is designed for surveillance and reconnaissance and is equipped with a multifunctional radar with an AN/ZPY-3 active electronically scanned array (AESA) and radio reconnaissance.

Wingspan MQ-4C – 39.9 m (130.9 ft), length – 14.5 m (47.6 ft), maximum takeoff weight — 14628 kg, weight of internal payload – 1252 kg, weight of payload on external suspension — 1089 kg.

The top range is 8,200 nautical miles, the operational range is about 2,000 nautical miles, the flight altitude is more than 17.2 km, the maximum speed is 331 knots, the flight duration is more than 24 hours.