Defense and aerospace company Northrop Grumman has secured a $267.2 million modification from the U.S. Department of Defense exercising an option to acquire two new Navy MQ-4C Triton unmanned air systems, a Navy main operating base and MQ-4C spare parts for Australia’s fleet.
The new deal, a modification to a previously awarded cost-plus-fixed-fee, firm-fixed-price, fixed-price incentive contract, also covers related support services and technical and administrative data. It will be funded by fiscal 2024 Navy aircraft procurement funds and Royal Australian Air Force cooperative funds.
Northrop will work in several locations, including Rancho Bernardo, San Diego and Palmdale in California and Red Oak in Texas, until October 2028.
The modification continues the U.S. and Australia’s collaboration on the Triton, designed for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance operations over coastal regions and oceans. The surveillance aircraft, based on Northrop’s Global Hawk UAS, has a capacity of 8.2K nautical miles and can fly at altitudes beyond 10 miles for 24 hours.
In May 2024, Northrop secured a deal to extend sustainment engineering and logistics support services for the MQ-4C of the U.S. Navy and Australian air forces.