The U.S. Department of Defense has awarded Northrop Grumman a $169.7 million contract to provide sustainment engineering and logistics services for the U.S. Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force’s MQ-4C Triton uncrewed aircraft system. The RAAF is contributing $19.5 million in the contract’s funding.
The contract order, released Monday with Naval Air Systems Command as the contract activity, includes spare and repair parts, life cycle program planning, engineering analyses, training and test support.
Northrop Grumman will work on the contract at various locations in the U.S., mostly in San Diego, California, and Patuxent River, Maryland, as well as in Katherine and Adelaide, Australia. The contract is expected to be completed in May 2028.
Earlier, Australia increased its original order of three MQ-4C Tritons to four units, with the first delivery expected in 2024. Northrop Grumman completed the drone’s first test flight in November, firming up the delivery schedule.
Northrop Grumman Australia announced in April that it is tapping L3Harris to operate and maintain Triton’s command and control systems under an interim sustainment support contract. The company has partnered with several contractors to integrate and maintain the uncrewed aircraft’s key systems and technologies to meet RAAF requirements, including conducting round-the-clock monitoring and protecting Australia’s maritime interests.