Mary-Louise Hoffman
Northrop Grumman has awarded Ferry Engineering a contract to manufacture structural components for the first four MQ-4C Triton drones that Northrop is building for the U.S. Navy.
Ian Irving, chief executive of Northrop’s Australian arm, said Thursday the business intends to partner with local suppliers to produce and sustain Triton unmanned aircraft systems for the U.S. and Australian navies.
Northrop requested Australian vendors to submit quotations for the follow-on production of UAS cables, special tooling and testing equipment and machined and composite assemblies.
Australia is buying Triton drones to support the country’s high-altitude surveillance activities.
Northrop designed the drone to fly at an altitude of more than 55,000 feet for up to 24 hours as well as to provide military users with a 360-degree surveillance coverage.
