Northrop Grumman Australia delivers Triton NITE capability ahead of schedule.

Northrop Grumman Australia has successfully delivered the Triton Network Integration Test Environment (NITE) to the Commonwealth of Australia ahead of schedule, marking another milestone in the Australian MQ-4C Triton program.

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FLTLT Douglas Hogg and FLTLT Davis Strauss from the ISR Transition Office at RAAF Base Edinburgh reviewing the Triton network configuration files on the newly delivered Network Integration Test Environment (Picture source: Northrop Grumman)

Developed by Northrop Grumman and based at Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Base Edinburgh, NITE will support Chief Information Officer Group (CIOG) to configure and test the array of Triton network interfaces and systems prior to the delivery of the first aircraft to Australia in 2023. Critically, NITE enables CIOG to design and test Triton’s network architecture on Defence wide area networks.

“This program will derisk the first Triton aircraft arriving into Australia and leverage the expertise and lessons learned from Northrop Grumman and the US Navy,” said Christine Zeitz, general manager, Northrop Grumman Asia Pacific. “We are establishing sovereign capability to support the Triton program which once established will revolutionise maritime ISR in the Indo-Pacific region.”

Despite challenges presented by COVID-19 restrictions, Northrop Grumman’s engineering teams in the United States and Australia worked closely together to achieve the delivery milestone, leveraging experience learned through supporting the U.S. Navy’s Triton roll-out.

Beyond the successful delivery of the NITE capability, Northrop Grumman is working closely with the U.S. Navy to progress Triton toward initial operating capability and global deployments. The U.S. Navy and Northrop Grumman achieved the first flight of the multi-intelligence variant on July 30.

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Royal Australian Air Force Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton HALE UAV (Picture source: RAAF)

The MQ-4C Triton is an American high-altitude long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) under development by Northrop Grumman for the United States Navy as a surveillance aircraft.

The MQ-4C Triton air vehicle is based upon the United States Air Force (USAF) RQ-4B Global Hawk, while its sensors are based upon components of already fielded in the U.S. DoD (Department of Defense) inventory. Along with the P-8A manned aircraft, the MQ-4C Triton is integral to the Navy's Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance Force (MPRF) Family of Systems (FoS).

The fuselage of the MQ-4C Triton is an aluminum semi-monocoque construction while the V-tail, engine nacelle, and aft fuselage are made of composite materials. It has a length of 14.5 m, a height of 4.7 m, and a wingspan of 39.9 m. It has an internal payload of 1,452 kg maximum and an external payload of 1,089 kg.

The MQ-4C Triton can fly at a maximum altitude of 18,300m (60,000ft). It has a gross take-off weight of 14,628 kg. Its maximum unrefueled range is 18,427 km (9,950 nm) and has a flight endurance of 30 hours. It can reach a maximum speed of 575 km (357 mph).