Northrop Grumman delivers Triton NITE capability to Australia

Northrop Grumman announced on 1 September the formal delivery of the Triton Network Integration Test Environment (NITE) to Australia as part of Canberra's programme to acquire up to seven MQ-4C Triton high-altitude, long-endurance (HALE) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAVs) for the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF).

Developed by Northrop Grumman and based at RAAF Base Edinburgh, NITE will support the Chief Information Officer Group (CIOG) to configure and test the array of Triton network interfaces and systems prior to the delivery of the first MQ-4C to Australia, said the company, adding that the system will also enable the CIOG to design and test the Triton's network architecture on the Department of Defence's (DoD's) wide area networks.

Flight Lieutenants Douglas Hogg and Davis Strauss from the ISR Transition Office at RAAF Base Edinburgh reviewing the Triton network configuration files on the newly delivered NITE. (Northrop Grumman)

“This programme will de-risk 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 for Northrop Grumman Asia Pacific.

Australia expects to receive its first Triton ground control station in early 2022, with acceptance of the first Triton UAV for Australia expected the following year. That said, Northrop Grumman Australia's chief executive, Chris Deeble, told Janes in May that the first UAV would not arrive in the country until 2024 because of delays in infrastructure works at RAAF Edinburgh – the Triton's main operating base for the ground segment – and at the UAVs' forward-operating base at RAAF Tindal, in Australia's Northern Territory.