Australia Takes Delivery of First MC-55A Peregrine Intelligence Aircraft

The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) has received its first MC-55A Peregrine, which is a new airborne intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and electronic warfare aircraft.

The aircraft arrived at RAAF Base Edinburgh in South Australia late last week. It is the first of four MC-55As ordered under the $1.6 billion worth Project AIR 555 program announced in 2019. It followed U.S. approval in 2017 for Australia to acquire up to five modified aircraft and their mission systems. The MC-55A will be operated by No. 10 Squadron and permanently based at Edinburgh.

Derived from the Gulfstream G550 airframe and modified by L3Harris Technologies, the MC-55A is designed to collect, process and distribute intelligence across multiple domains. It will operate alongside platforms such as the P-8A Poseidon and MQ-4C Triton as part of Australia’s wider intelligence and electronic warfare enterprise. The platform would also support intelligence-sharing with partners including the U.K. and the U.S.

The newly-delivered aircraft completed a multi-leg delivery flight from the United States via Arizona, Hawaii, Wake Island and Guam. It still carries a U.S. civil test registration and is said to be the third MC-55A airframe to be built. The aircraft already bears No. 10 Squadron markings, a unit that previously operated AP-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft, including electronic warfare variants.

Images of the Australian MC-55A shared by Aviation photographer Airman94 show extensive external modifications, including multiple antenna arrays, a large ventral fairing and a modified tail section, indicating a focus on signals intelligence, electronic warfare and communications relay missions. Australia’s defence ministry has not released sensor details, but the configuration points to a multirole platform capable of ISR, electronic warfare and data-fusion tasks.

With long endurance and high-altitude performance, the MC-55A is expected to link aircraft such as the F-35A, E-7A Wedgetail and EA-18G Growler with uncrewed systems, naval vessels and ground forces. Dedicated MC-55A support facilities are planned at RAAF bases Darwin and Townsville, as well as on the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, extending coverage across the Indo-Pacific.