Page 124 - Australian Defence Magazine November 2021

124 AIRPOWER
NOVEMBER 2021 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
De-icing and lightning protection systems allow the Tri- ton, if required, to descend through cloud layers and gain a closer view of ships and other maritime targets.
The MQ-4C’s standard operating crew comprises an air vehicle operator, a tactical coordinator, two mission payload operators and a signals intelligence coordinator. Assuming a crew operates the system for eight hours, a 24-hour Triton mission will require 15 personnel – and a single tank of fuel.
As pointed out by Northrop Grumman, the Triton’s mission radius of 2,000 nautical miles (3,700 km) and a maximum speed of 331 knots will allow the aircraft to undertake a surveillance mission from RAAF Tindal over Australia’s northeast approaches, reaching one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes in the Indian Ocean ap- proaching the Malacca Strait.
ABOVE: The RAAF’s Poseidons also have an important search and rescue role and are able to carry air-droppable air-sea rescue kits in their weapons bay
LEFT: 11 Squadron Airborne Electronic Analysts on-board the P-8A Poseidon during a mission as part of Operation Resolute
Its ability to detect suspicious activity far in advance would give commanders time to conduct a thorough situa- tional analysis and determine the most appropriate course of action to meet an apparent threat.
Commanders would also be able to make critical deci- sions to conduct specific missions against identified tar- gets of interest, such as tasking a P-8A to search a specific area where Triton had detected an anomaly.
The RAAF’s Tritons will be delivered in the US Navy’s IFC-4 Multi-Intelligence (Multi-INT) configuration, sup- porting a 360-degree active, electronically scanned array maritime radar; full motion electro-optical/infrared video streaming; full-spectrum signals intelligence provided by low band and high band sensor suites; automatic identi- fication system; and the ability to transmit multiple data types to ships, aircraft and defence ground stations.
The Multi-INT configuration will provide the RAAF with a pathway to retirement for the two AP-3C(EW) Orion platforms flown by 10 Squadron from RAAF Ed- inburgh, as it is for the US Navy’s ageing fleet of EP-3E Aeries II multi-intelligence reconnaissance aircraft.
Fielding the MQ-4C via a development, production and sustainment cooperative program with the USN has given the RAAF input into system and sensor operating modes
DEFENCE
NIGEL PITTAWAY