Adelaide will be the centre of Australia’s strategic unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) fleet, complementing the nation’s new fleet of P-8A Poseidon aircraft for maritime surveillance, based at RAAF Base Edinburgh.
The Australian Government has committed to the acquisition of four MQ-4C Triton UAV’s. The first of these aircraft were rolled out at a manufacturing facility in Palmdale California in September 2022, and landed at the RAAF Base Tindal, Northern Territory, in June 2024.
Built by Northrop Grumman for the US Navy in partnership with the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), the Triton concept stems from a successful joint US/Australian trial of the global Hawk unmanned aircraft system in South Australia in 2001.
The Triton project is set to establish a centre of excellence in unmanned aerial systems technology in South Australia, uniting world-leading companies, universities and defence organisations focused on maximising the new capability.
The four Triton UAV’s will be based at RAAF Base Tindal, Northern Territory, while ground control operations, sustainment and data processing will be managed by the reformed No. 9 Squadron at RAAF Base Edinburgh here in South Australia. This is a critical component of the Information Surveillance Reconnaissance precinct under development at Edinburgh.
This initiative is projected to create over 100 local jobs, strengthening South Australia’s defence workforce.
