Northrop eyes Norway as it works on Tritons for Australia
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An MQ-4C Triton drone at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, on June 13. Photo: Colin Demarest/Axios.
Northrop Grumman is bullish on the international appeal of its MQ-4C Triton, with Norway among the potential buyers of the massive maritime drone.
Why it matters: Militaries want more smart machinery, and governments want more dirt on their neighbors.
- Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) strapped with specialty sensors can satisfy both cravings.
Driving the news: Reporters on June 13 got an intimate look at Tritons housed at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, home to the Naval Air Systems Command.
State of play: Northrop's delivered 20 Tritons to the U.S. Navy. It's sent another three to Australia, and is building a fourth right now in Mississippi.
- "In the last six months, we've been able to execute 45 flights per month across all three operational orbits," said Capt. Josh Guerre, the persistent maritime unmanned aircraft systems program manager.
- "You really are supporting concurrent operations, 24/7."
Zoom in: Triton can fly around the clock at altitudes greater than 50,000 feet, hoovering up geospatial and signals intelligence. It can also pair with Boeing-made P-8 aircraft, which hunt submarines.
- Brad Champion, the Triton enterprise director at Northrop, described it as picking "up all the metal on the water."
The latest: Both Northrop and General Atomics responded to Norway's ask for long-range drones.
- "They have a very vast ocean region that they're responsible for," Champion said. "Their economic exclusion zone is very large within the High North, and they are procuring P-8s, so they are set up very well to continue to follow the U.S. Navy doctrine of that manned-unmanned teaming."
- Champion expects a decision this year. He referred an ask for specifics to Oslo.
The other side: C. Mark Brinkley, a spokesperson for General Atomics, told Axios the company has its MQ-9B SeaGuardian in the running.
- That drone "is ideal for Norway," he said, "offering multi-mission capabilities at a low cost."
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