U.S. Navy awards first LRIP contract for Triton UAS program

The U.S. Navy has awarded Northrop Grumman Systems Corp. a nearly 255.3 million U.S. dollars contract to begin low-rate initial production (LRIP) of the MQ-4C Triton unmanned aircraft system (UAS), according to the U.S. Department of Defence.

The contract, which was announced by the Department of Defense (DoD) on Wednesday, covers three low-rate initial production Lot 1 MQ-4C Triton unmanned aircraft, one main operation control station and one forward operation control station, training courseware, and tooling.

The Triton, previously known as the Broad Area Maritime System (BAMS), is the Navy's version of the Air Force's RQ-4 Global Hawk.

Designed for persistent maritime intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR), the Triton will be able to cover about 7 million square kilometers in a single mission. Its payload comprises the Multi-Function Active Sensor (MFAS) Maritime Radar, according to the Navy.

The 14.5 meters long Triton has a 39.9 meters wingspan and can fly for 30 hours at altitudes up to 18,288 meters. The first operational deployment for the UAS is scheduled for 2018.

"Triton's critical technology is mature, and the system development and design review phases have been successful," Doug Shaffer, Northrop Grumman's vice president for Triton programs, said in a statement.

The UAS obtained positive Milestone C low-rate initial production approval, following a successful Milestone Decision Authority (MDA) led review, Northrop Grumman announced on Monday.

Prior to the decision, which marks the beginning of the production and deployment phase of the DoD acquisition process, the Triton completed its operational assessment (OA) early this year.

"Completion of the full system OA testing exercised in various real-world scenarios validated the system's ability to protect the Navy's fleet from evolving threats." Endit