The research, led by Northrop Grumman and Sydney-based start-up Spiral Blue, will use space-based AI and “pioneering imaging” to track the currently undetectable weapons.
The deal was announced at the 34th AUSMIN summit in Maryland and will specifically see RAAF Base Learmonth added to the bases utilised.
The official clarification came in response to recent speculation that the MQ-28A Ghost Bat drone would not carry weapons and instead be shifted to intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) roles.
It was the biggest Pitch Black in the exercise’s 43-year history with missions of more than 50 aircraft at a time in one of the world’s largest military training areas.
Revealed at RAAF Base Tindal by Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles and Chief of Air Force Air Marshal Stephen Chappell, the MQ-4C Triton is a high-altitude, long-endurance aircraft that will provide persistent surveillance across Australia’s maritime approaches.
The accident, which took place during Exercise Talisman Sabre, resulted in the deaths of Captain Danniel Lyon, Lieutenant Maxwell Nugent, Warrant Officer Class Two Joseph Laycock, and Corporal Alexander Naggs.