Page 15 - Australian Defence Magazine April 2019
P. 15

Boeing’s ‘Loyal Wingman’ ATS on show at the Avalon Airshow.
Triton
Another of RAAF’s most significant un- manned acquisitions are six MQ-4C Tri- tons, announced in June last year. The air- craft will be based at RAAF Edinburgh in SA and RAAF Tindal in NT to undertake maritime surveillance operations - cruising at 310 knots for up to 24 hours at 46,000 feet, 11,000 kilometres from home, with a 400 kilometre sensor range – to comple- ment RAAF’s new P-8A Poseidons.
According to GPCAPT Jason Lind, Di- rector of ISR, EW and Space for RAAF, the platform is also defined by ability to plug into other 5th Gen platforms: “It’s the network- ing we’re interested in – using the combat cloud to improve our decision superiority.”
at Avalon
The question of why it is necessary for a manned platform to accompany a swarm of Loyal Wingmen – which are capable of be- ing controlled from the ground – also went unanswered.
Defence is investing $40 million in the platform across five years under the minors framework, whilst Boeing has invested a “significant” sum and would not answer questions on whether the US government had also chipped in. Other countries have reportedly shown ‘significant interest’. Sixteen local com- panies have contributed to the project, which also involves a factory to be based
in Australia (location undecided) that is currently prototyped. ADM under- stands that Australia was particularly suitable for certifying the Wingman – a challenge given the experimental nature of the aircraft – thanks to low popula- tion density.
“There is significant value investing in innovative, future leaning initiatives like this, particularly in the early con- ceptual stages where Defence can ex- plore concepts and define the role such capabilities can play in our national se- curity framework,” Minister for Defence Christopher Pyne said.
As part of the acquisition, Australia is entering into a $200 million cooperative program with the US Navy to develop, produce, and sustain the Triton: an ap- proach that requires RAAF to take on a degree of risk in exchange for ‘small’ influ- ence to shape the program towards Aus- tralian requirements.
“The Cooperative Program is different to an FMS in that we’re a partner,” GPCAPT Martin Nussio, Director ISR for CASG, explained. “In this case, the decision [to en- ter a cooperative program] was to do with where Triton is at in its development cycle. They wanted to commit to the program, but wait a while longer to commit to the re- maining aircraft.
“That means we share risk, but also share reward. We can get capabilities earlier and have some small influence for Australian requirements. We have eight Australian personnel who are not embedded... they are actually threaded through the US team. So it’s genuinely a cooperative partnership. It’s a different way of acquiring.”
ADM can also confirm that the option for a seventh Triton is very much on the
www.australiandefence.com.au | April 2019 | 15
“ADM understands that
Australia was particularly suitable for certifying the Wingman - a challenge given the experimental nature of the aircraft.”
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