As the ADF’s Defence Strategic Update report nears, one of the key considerations for its architects will be to recommend whether or not Australia continues with its plan to buy up to seven Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton uncrewed maritime ISR systems under Project AIR 7000 Phase 1B.
The Triton program has been a very slow burn for Australia, going back to the late 1990s when the ADF expressed an interest in a maritime ISR development of the then-new RQ-4A Global Hawk program. Recognising the potential of Australia as not only a possible customer, but also its ideal geographical location that could bridge a gap in ISR coverage between the western Pacific and the Middle East, Northrop Grumman and the US DoD eagerly welcomed and nurtured that interest.
The MQ-4C Triton was selected in April 2008 to fulfil the US Navy’s Broad Area Maritime Surveillance (BAMS) requirement, ahead of an offering by Boeing based on an optionally-crewed Gulfstream G550, and the General Atomics MQ-9 Mariner. Based on the RQ-4B Global Hawk, the Triton features a stiffened wing, de-icing for the wing and intake leading edges, lightning protection, and optical, radar, and electronic sensors optimised for the maritime environment.
The US Navy has a program of record requirement for 68 Tritons, to be based at five operating locations worldwide: Sigonella in Italy, Bahrain or the UAE in the Persian Gulf, Guam in the western Pacific, Pt Mugu in California, and Jacksonville in Florida.
Initially, it was planned that the RAAF would join with the US Navy as a development partner of the BAMS solution, but this option was shelved by the then Rudd-Labor government in 2009. In March 2014, the then new Abbott-LNP government announced its intention to buy seven Tritons at a cost of US $3 billion, with the plan being to base the air vehicles and ground control segments at RAAF Edinburgh near Adelaide.
This is an excerpt from APDR. To read the full story click here.
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