RAAF personnel embedded within the US Navy’s PMA-262 (Persistent Maritime Unmanned Aircraft Systems) Program Office have recently supported the deployment of Forward Operating Base (FOB) equipment for the Navy’s Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Tritons to Guam.
The FOB equipment also included a Mobile Remote Quick Look (RQL) trailer, which was deployed to Andersen Air Force Base aboard a C-17A Globemaster III airlifter from the US Air Force’s 436th Airlift Wing on 1 February 2023.
The equipment will be used to support the US Navy’s future MQ-4C ‘Orbit 1’ operations on Guam for the 7th Fleet and will provide a self-contained, secure facility to store Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) data.
“The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) works in close cooperation with United States Navy (USN) counterparts as part of the MQ-4C Triton Cooperative Program. The program strengthens our ability to develop advanced capabilities and ensure they remain complementary with our security partners, while also sharing in the benefits of their technical expertise and project costs,” a Defence spokesperson told ADM.
“One contribution the RAAF makes as a partner in the Triton Cooperative Program is the provision of a small number of personnel embedded in the USN Triton Program Management Agency.
“Some of these personnel were involved in facilitating the shipment of equipment from the Dover Air Force Base in the US to Andersen Air Force Base in Guam. This provided RAAF personnel with valuable experience in managing the movement and installation of the equipment in preparation for the stand-up and installation of Australian ground segments at RAAF Base Edinburgh in South Australia.
“This forward operating base equipment and remote quick look trailer are for use by the USN in Guam, and will not be used for Australian operations.”
Australia has three MQ-4C Tritons on order as part of Defence’s Air 7000 Phase 1B program and the first aircraft is expected to arrive in the country in 2024. During the recent Avalon Airshow near Melbourne, Defence Minister Richard Marles announced that the RAAF’s No.9 Squadron will be reformed as the Triton operating unit. A total of six – and possibly seven – Tritons are ultimately forecast by Air 7000/1B and the forthcoming DSR is expected to provide further guidance on the future capability.