The Australian government announced plans on March 13 to buy an unspecified number of Northrop Grumman’s [NOC] Triton long-range unmanned aerial vehicles for maritime patrol, the same aircraft the company is producing for the U.S. Navy.
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said the Tritons will enhance the Royal Australian Air Force’s ability to patrol the seas in conjunction with the manned Boeing [BA] P-8A Poseidons the government also plans to buy in the years ahead.
“This is a very important purchase that will dramatically add to our surveillance capability in the years and decades to come,” Abbott said. “It will complement the additional surveillance capability that will be given to us by the Poseidon aircraft whose purchase I announced some weeks ago.”
In February, Australia announced its intent to buy at least eight P-8As with the possibility of acquiring more of the jets based on the commercial 737 airframe. Abbott did not specify how many Tritons would be purchased, but previous Defense Ministry white papers have signaled a need for six to eight.
Abbott was speaking at the Royal Australian Air Force Base Edinburgh, where both planes will be based.
The Triton, which the U.S. Navy designates as MQ-4C, is a maritime variant of the U.S. Air Force’s Global Hawk. The planes can reach altitudes of 60,000 feet and stay aloft for about 30 hours. The U.S. Navy has said it will buy 68 Tritons, with the first group scheduled to become operational in 2017. The Navy and Northrop Grumman are in the middle of test flying the Triton airframe in Palmdale, Calif.
Abbott’s office said the government will outline the quantity of Tritons planned to be bought in the 2016 defense white paper. RAAF chief Air Marshal Geoff Brown said the coupling of Tritons and Poseidons will be a significant improvement over Australia’s current airborne sea patrol capabilities.
“The combination of the P-8 and Triton will provide a far better maritime patrol and response capability than we have at this time,” Brown said.