Breaking news
Australia renews interest in MQ-4C Triton UAS Unmanned Aircraft System.
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Naval
Forces News - Australia |
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Australia renews interest in MQ-4C Triton UAS Unmanned Aircraft System |
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The
Australian Ministers for Defence and Defence Materiel announced May
15 that the government of Australia will enter into a Foreign Military
Sales (FMS) planning case with the U.S. Navy for the MQ-4C Triton Unmanned
Aircraft System (UAS). The FMS planning case will help Australian defense
officials assess the applicability of Triton’s capabilities to
their high-altitude, long-endurance UAS for maritime patrol and other
surveillance requirements. |
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 Link to MQ-4C Triton datasheet (Picture: Northrop Grumman Corp.) |
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According
to a press release issued by Australia's Minister for Defence Stephen
Smith and Minister for Defence Materiel Dr. Mike Kelly on May 15, "The
goal is to provide long-range, long-endurance maritime surveillance
and response and an effective anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare
capability." Australia's interest in the U.S. Navy’s persistent maritime surveillance unmanned systems development dates back to 2007 when it participated in the Broad Area Maritime Surveillance (BAMS) UAS pre-system development and demonstration under a cooperative partner project agreement. "Our team is eager to partner with Australia on this FMS planning case involving the MQ-4C Triton UAS," said Capt. Jim Hoke, the Navy's Persistent Maritime (PMA-262) UAS program office here. "The development of a system based on the Triton UAS would significantly improve Australian and US capabilities in the region, enhancing our joint ability to respond to regional challenges, including humanitarian assistance and disaster relief." As an adjunct to the manned P-8A, the U.S. Navy's Triton will be able to cover more than 2.7 million square miles in a single mission. Its capability to perform persistent intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance with a range of 2,000 nautical miles will allow P-8A, P-3C and EP-3E aircraft to focus on their core missions, adding to the capability of the Navy's Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance Force. Australia is a cooperative partner with the U.S. Navy in the development and production of the P-8A. |