Australia eyes unmanned technology

2nd February 2017 - 16:28 GMT | by Nigel Pittaway in Melbourne

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The Australian government has committed to the acquisition of seven Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton unmanned maritime surveillance platforms early next decade, and it is also considering UCAVs and unmanned vertical take-off platforms.

Australia is interested in the Multi-Intelligence (Multi-INT) version of Triton, due to enter service with the US Navy (USN) in 2021. The Multi-INT Triton has improvements over the baseline vehicle, including a signals intelligence payload.

Ian Irving, Northrop Grumman Australia’s chief executive said on 16 January that Australia was seeking to enter a cooperative agreement with the USN to further develop Triton, which will be acquired under Project

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Nigel Pittaway

Nigel Pittaway is a Shephard correspondent based in Melbourne, Australia.

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