On Tuesday, August 19, 2025, the American company Northrop Grumman announced on social media the delivery of the second and third out of six planned MQ-4C Triton High-Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) unmanned aerial vehicle, intended for the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF).
Photos: Australian Department of Defence
The manufacturer reported the redeployment of the aircraft with a delay, as the Australian Department of Defence had already publicly noted the fact on August 9 via social media and… on June 27 on its official website, while photos published on May 20 were dated May 8. It can therefore be assumed that the latter date marks the arrival of the aircraft with serial numbers AUS2 / registration A57-002 and AUS3 / A57-003 at RAAF Tindal Air Base in the Northern Territory, where they joined the first unit, AUS1 / A57-001, delivered on June 16, 2024.
Preparations for the delivery of AUS2 / A57-002 and AUS3 / A57-003 had been announced by the manufacturer on February 6 of this year, when flight tests of the latter were completed, after which it was to be transferred to the U.S. Navy’s NAS Patuxent River base in Maryland, to join the first unit for calibration testing.
Australia is acquiring Tritons under the AIR 7000 Phase 1B program, which envisions the introduction of a total of six aircraft (seven were considered in 2016). The decision to purchase was made on June 26, 2018. For the acquisition and deployment of the MQ-4C Triton UAVs, along with the necessary support facilities and infrastructure upgrades, Australia planned to allocate 1.4 billion AUD.
On May 15 of this year, the U.S. Navy’s NAVAIR (Naval Air Systems Command) signed a contract worth 188,584,592 USD with Northrop Grumman Systems Corp. for the continuation of the support and operational readiness program of the Australian Tritons.
The Tritons will complement the fleet of 12 P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol and anti-submarine warfare aircraft (+2 more ordered under the AIR 7000 Phase 2B program) and 2 MC-55A Peregrine electronic warfare aircraft. They will also support the operations of F-35A Lightning II fighters and E-7A Wedgetail airborne early warning and control aircraft. They will operate from RAAF Edinburgh in South Australia and the aforementioned RAAF Tindal as part of No. 9 Squadron of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF).
The ground control stations are located at Edinburgh base. As of September 20, 2023, 4 out of 6 aircraft had been contracted. Northrop Grumman Australia and L3Harris Australia were designated to provide fleet support.
The MQ-4C Triton was developed for the U.S. Navy under the Broad Area Maritime Surveillance (BAMS) program and is the maritime variant of the RQ-4 Global Hawk UAV. The RQ-4 was developed by Ryan Aeronautical (now part of Northrop Grumman) under the Tier II+ program.
Australia became a signatory to the BAMS program in 2006 with plans to acquire UAVs. This allowed Australian personnel to join the U.S. Navy’s PMA-262 Persistent Maritime Unmanned Aircraft Systems program office. On July 30, 2021, the first Triton equipped with the upgraded IFC-4 (Integrated Functional Capability Four) software made its maiden flight.
On June 15, 2023, it was reported that a U.S. Triton took part in the Northern Edge 23-1 exercise in the Gulf of Alaska, during which it designated simulated hostile surface targets for allied weapon systems for the first time. Australian partners participated in the exercise. Later, on September 19, 2024, the company announced that a U.S. Navy aircraft of this type carried out its first flight in the Arctic region and over the North Pole.
The Triton is 14.5 m long, has a wingspan of 39.9 m, a height of 4.7 m, and a weight of 14.63 t. A single Rolls-Royce AE 3007 turbofan engine, with a thrust of 28.89–39.66 kN, provides a maximum speed of 575 km/h and a service ceiling of 18,288 m. The UAV’s maximum range is 15,186 km.
In the past, Germany abandoned its planned Triton purchase, while Norway is currently expressing interest in acquiring them. The platform has also been offered to India.
