North's first unmanned aircraftrop Grumman, the MQ-4C Triton, was received at the RAAF (Royal Australian Air Force) Base in the early hours of this Sunday (16).
The A57-001 is the first of four on order. The project was presented by the manufacturer in September 2022 and carried out its first flight in November 2023.
For its final adaptation and certification, in February of this year, it made a flight from Palmdale, California, to the US Naval Air Station in Patuxent River, headquarters of the US Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR).
Australia received its first Triton almost 20 years after it ed the US Navy's Wide Area Maritime Surveillance (BAMS) development program through a Project Agreement in 2006. In 2018, Australia ed a cooperative Development, Production and Sustainment (DPS) program with the US Navy for the MQ-4C Triton.
This agreement allowed Australia to embed personnel into the Persistent Unmanned Maritime Aircraft Systems Program Office (PMA-262) and provide input into system development. It also provided Australia with the opportunity to have influence over the direction of the system's development.
For the first time in Australia, staff at RAAF at Tindal will handle taxi, landing and takeoff services, while all operational aircraft maintenance will be carried out by Northrop Grumman Australia and L3Harris Australia under an interim sustainment contract.
The Australian Tritons will be operated by RAAF 9 Squadron, with the aircraft flying from RAAF Tindal, while control and monitoring will be carried out by RAAF Edinburgh.
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