Back in full flight — Funding boost revives Triton project

This quashed fears the program could be scrapped following a halt in production due to an absence of funding in the FY21 budget.

Such reports reverberated across the Australian defence community, given the Commonwealth government’s commitment to procure at least six of the unmanned aerial systems as part of AIR 7000 Phase 1B program.

Jake Campbell, Triton program director at Northrop Grumman Australia, said the FY23 budget request should renew confidence in the program’s potential.

“In the past two years, Australia has funded three Tritons and the US government has written three Tritons back into the FY21 and FY22 defence budgets, which has eliminated the production gap proposed in the US President’s FY21 defence budget request,” Campbell told Defence Connect.

“The inclusion of three Tritons in the US President’s FY23 defence budget request clearly indicates the Triton program is on a good path and moving forward.”

Concerns were later put to bed after Northrop Grumman announced its receipt of a $15 million modification to the previously awarded, fixed-price incentive contract for the MQ-4C Triton project.
The deal involves upgrading the unmanned platforms with Integrated Functional Capability 4 multiple intelligence configuration.

The IFC-4 feature is designed to better inform real-time decision making at tactical to strategic levels.

The first production of IFC-4 Triton was delivered to the US Navy in February 2022, arriving at Naval Air Station Patuxent River in Maryland.

The platform, referred to as B8, was upgraded to the multi-intelligence configuration in line with the US Navy’s ISRT requirements.

This followed a successful flight test of the IFC-4 Triton in July 2021.

“The US Navy’s development of the multi-intelligence configuration of Triton remains on-track, with an anticipated initial operating capability for the US Navy in 2023,” Campbell revealed.

The US Navy is currently operating two Tritons in the Pacific as part of an early operational capability deployment, with the program expected to achieve initial operational capability (IOC) in 2023.

The Navy has committed to maintaining five 24/7 operational orbits with a planned 68-aircraft program of record.

Meanwhile, Northrop Grumman is making progress on the delivery of the RAAF’s future platforms.

Earlier this year, Northrop Grumman Australia signed an acquisition services contract with Defence, aimed at supporting the planning required to establish a sovereign sustainment capability before the RAAF Triton fleet enters service.

Last December, the company announced an aircraft fuselage was mounted on the one-piece wing of Australia’s first MQ-4C Triton, on track for delivery in 2024.

This followed Northrop Grumman Australia’s delivery of the Triton Network Integration Test Environment (NITE) to Defence ahead of schedule.

“We look forward to continuing to work with CASG and RAAF to support the delivery of Australia’s first aircraft in 2024,” Campbell says.

Located at RAAF Base Edinburgh, NITE is expected to support the Chief Information Officer Group (CIOG) to configure and test the Triton network interfaces and systems ahead of delivery.

The Tritons are tipped to deliver over 24-hour endurance, collecting essential ISR data over land and sea to enable rapid, informed decision making.

The HALE systems have also been designed to support future connectivity with the joint force, leveraging advanced autonomy and artificial intelligence/machine learning.