Australia will buy a fourth MQ-4C Triton reconnaissance drone at a cost of more than $100 million, which can climb to altitudes of more than 15 kilometres and fly for 30 hours at speeds of 575 kilometres per hour

By: Maksim Panasovskiy | 19.09.2023, 15:41

In September 2022, Northrop Grumman unveiled the first MQ-4C Triton drone for the Royal Australian Air Force. Initially, the American company received an order for three UAVs. However, the Australian Department of Defence decided to purchase a fourth drone.

Here's What We Know

The MQ-4C Triton is a reconnaissance platform that can climb to an altitude of more than 15 kilometres and reach a speed of 610 km/h. The drone is equipped with a Rolls-Royce AE 3007 engine. The cruising speed is 575 km/h and the flight time is 30 hours.

The cost of the MQ-4C for the Royal Australian Air Force is not specified. However, it is known that the development programme cost almost $13 billion, and the average price of one drone is over $120 million. The export value may be higher.

The MQ-4C Triton, unveiled last autumn, will be delivered to the Royal Australian Air Force in 2024. The Australian government has also signed a $220m contract to provide interim support to fund the establishment of a maintenance team at Tindal.

Source: Australian Ministry of Defence, Breaking Defence