Australia’s new Boeing MQ-28 Ghost Bat combat drone is now ready to detect and track enemy aircraft
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Boeing and the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) announced on September 5, 2025, from Woomera, South Australia, that the MQ-28 Ghost Bat Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) had completed a series of operational demonstrations. These activities were part of the Capability Demonstration 2025 program and concluded four months earlier than planned. The RAAF had defined the scope of the demonstrations to confirm whether the uncrewed platform could perform missions that support and enhance the performance of crewed aircraft. According to Boeing, the results will be integrated into Block 2 aircraft currently under production, and these models will form the basis of the RAAF’s initial operational capability, with the potential for allied partners to adopt the system in the future.Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link
The MQ-28 Ghost Bat’s Capability Demonstration 2025 missions concluded in early June and explicitly validated the first four steps in the air combat chain, which are find, fix, track, and target. (Picture source: Australian MoD)
The demonstrations validated the MQ-28’s ability to complete the first four stages of the air combat chain, which are find (detect potential targets), fix (confirm the exact position and identity), track (maintain contact with moving targets), and target (designating a specific target for potential engagement). These steps were proven through trials that tested autonomous behaviours and execution of missions, coordinated operations involving multiple aircraft to provide combat mass, forward deployment to RAAF Base Tindal, and integration with an E-7A Wedgetail airborne early warning and control aircraft. The exercises also confirmed that multiple MQ-28s could share fused data between each other and relay this information to a crewed platform. Program director Glen Ferguson stated that meeting these objectives ahead of schedule allows work on the next phases, engage and assess, to be accelerated, including a live air-to-air weapon firing scheduled for late 2025 or early 2026.
The MQ-28 program has accumulated approximately 150 flight hours and more than 20,000 hours of virtual simulation testing. These trials have been structured to ensure the platform can provide a distributed sensing and targeting capability that reduces risks to pilots and increases operational persistence. The demonstrations at Woomera included coordinated activities between multiple uncrewed aircraft and showed how data exchange with crewed systems could improve awareness and targeting functions. Boeing and the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) confirmed that all objectives for 2025 had been met, and the data generated will support the refinement of the software and mission systems that underpin Block 2 aircraft.
Exercise Carlsbad, conducted at RAAF Base Tindal in the Northern Territory in June 2025, was the first time the MQ-28 operated outside the Woomera Range Complex. The aircraft was transported from the Australian International Air Show aboard a C-17A Globemaster III and made ready for flight within seven days. The deployment assessed whether the aircraft could be relocated quickly, supported by base infrastructure, and integrated with local squadrons including 75 Squadron, 17 Squadron, and 9 Squadron. The exercise also included the Collaborative Autonomous Systems Project Office, Air Force Headquarters, and the Air Warfare Centre. This operation focused on confirming system functionality, verifying logistics and interoperability, and demonstrating the aircraft’s ability to perform in an unfamiliar environment.
In another trial during June 2025, a single operator on board an E-7A Wedgetail controlled two MQ-28 aircraft in real time while managing an additional simulated aircraft. The event demonstrated the potential for airborne command and control platforms to integrate and coordinate uncrewed combat aircraft directly. Software developed by Boeing Defence Australia in collaboration with Australia’s Defence Science and Technology Group and the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory supported this test. The demonstration aimed to show how MQ-28s could act as forward sensors and extend situational awareness for crewed aircraft, allowing distributed operations across contested environments. Boeing indicated that this capability will be developed further with tests later in 2025 involving F/A-18F Super Hornets and F-35A Lightning II aircraft.
The MQ-28 is designed as a subsonic jet with a length of 11.7 meters, a wingspan of 7.3 meters, and a range exceeding 3,700 kilometers. It is powered by a commercial off-the-shelf turbofan engine, thought to be either the Williams FJ44 or Pratt & Whitney Canada PW300. The design relies on shaping to reduce radar visibility rather than using radar-absorbent materials, and its resin-infused composite wing is the largest such structure produced by Boeing. The nose module, with an internal volume of 1.5 cubic meters, can be replaced with mission-specific payloads including intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, radar, or electronic warfare systems. Saab supplies the flight control actuators, BAE Systems Australia provides the vehicle management and simulation systems, and the Defence Science and Technology Group contributes aerodynamic and structural testing. The upcoming Block 2 aircraft will incorporate modifications including the removal of the dogtooth wing, wiring changes to improve maintainability, and a new GPS and inertial navigation system.
The Ghost Bat program is Australia’s first domestic combat aircraft development in over fifty years and is being carried out by Boeing Defence Australia with significant local industry participation. More than 200 Australian suppliers are involved in providing components such as avionics, landing gear, and composite structures. Boeing is constructing a 9,000 square meter assembly facility at the Wellcamp Aerospace and Defence Precinct in Toowoomba, Queensland, to support final assembly and integration of the MQ-28. The Australian government has committed over A$1 billion to the Ghost Bat within a larger $10 billion investment in uncrewed systems, of which $4.3 billion is directed specifically to aerial platforms.
Contracts have covered ten Block 1 aircraft and an additional three Block 2 aircraft valued at $400 million. The Block 1 aircraft, which include eight prototypes, will remain developmental test assets, while the Block 2 units will represent the first operational standard. International interest has been reported, with the U.S. Department of Defense acquiring at least one MQ-28 for research and development. The program continues to emphasize that the Ghost Bat will progress from supplementing find, fix, track, and target tasks toward demonstrating engage and assess capabilities once live weapons testing begins.
Written by Jérôme Brahy
Jérôme Brahy is a defense analyst and documentalist at Army Recognition. He specializes in naval modernization, aviation, drones, armored vehicles, and artillery, with a focus on strategic developments in the United States, China, Russia, Türkiye, and Belgium. His analyses go beyond the facts, providing context, identifying key actors, and explaining why defense news matters on a global scale.
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Boeing and the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) announced on September 5, 2025, from Woomera, South Australia, that the MQ-28 Ghost Bat Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) had completed a series of operational demonstrations. These activities were part of the Capability Demonstration 2025 program and concluded four months earlier than planned. The RAAF had defined the scope of the demonstrations to confirm whether the uncrewed platform could perform missions that support and enhance the performance of crewed aircraft. According to Boeing, the results will be integrated into Block 2 aircraft currently under production, and these models will form the basis of the RAAF’s initial operational capability, with the potential for allied partners to adopt the system in the future.
Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link
The MQ-28 Ghost Bat’s Capability Demonstration 2025 missions concluded in early June and explicitly validated the first four steps in the air combat chain, which are find, fix, track, and target. (Picture source: Australian MoD)
The demonstrations validated the MQ-28’s ability to complete the first four stages of the air combat chain, which are find (detect potential targets), fix (confirm the exact position and identity), track (maintain contact with moving targets), and target (designating a specific target for potential engagement). These steps were proven through trials that tested autonomous behaviours and execution of missions, coordinated operations involving multiple aircraft to provide combat mass, forward deployment to RAAF Base Tindal, and integration with an E-7A Wedgetail airborne early warning and control aircraft. The exercises also confirmed that multiple MQ-28s could share fused data between each other and relay this information to a crewed platform. Program director Glen Ferguson stated that meeting these objectives ahead of schedule allows work on the next phases, engage and assess, to be accelerated, including a live air-to-air weapon firing scheduled for late 2025 or early 2026.
The MQ-28 program has accumulated approximately 150 flight hours and more than 20,000 hours of virtual simulation testing. These trials have been structured to ensure the platform can provide a distributed sensing and targeting capability that reduces risks to pilots and increases operational persistence. The demonstrations at Woomera included coordinated activities between multiple uncrewed aircraft and showed how data exchange with crewed systems could improve awareness and targeting functions. Boeing and the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) confirmed that all objectives for 2025 had been met, and the data generated will support the refinement of the software and mission systems that underpin Block 2 aircraft.
Exercise Carlsbad, conducted at RAAF Base Tindal in the Northern Territory in June 2025, was the first time the MQ-28 operated outside the Woomera Range Complex. The aircraft was transported from the Australian International Air Show aboard a C-17A Globemaster III and made ready for flight within seven days. The deployment assessed whether the aircraft could be relocated quickly, supported by base infrastructure, and integrated with local squadrons including 75 Squadron, 17 Squadron, and 9 Squadron. The exercise also included the Collaborative Autonomous Systems Project Office, Air Force Headquarters, and the Air Warfare Centre. This operation focused on confirming system functionality, verifying logistics and interoperability, and demonstrating the aircraft’s ability to perform in an unfamiliar environment.
In another trial during June 2025, a single operator on board an E-7A Wedgetail controlled two MQ-28 aircraft in real time while managing an additional simulated aircraft. The event demonstrated the potential for airborne command and control platforms to integrate and coordinate uncrewed combat aircraft directly. Software developed by Boeing Defence Australia in collaboration with Australia’s Defence Science and Technology Group and the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory supported this test. The demonstration aimed to show how MQ-28s could act as forward sensors and extend situational awareness for crewed aircraft, allowing distributed operations across contested environments. Boeing indicated that this capability will be developed further with tests later in 2025 involving F/A-18F Super Hornets and F-35A Lightning II aircraft.
The MQ-28 is designed as a subsonic jet with a length of 11.7 meters, a wingspan of 7.3 meters, and a range exceeding 3,700 kilometers. It is powered by a commercial off-the-shelf turbofan engine, thought to be either the Williams FJ44 or Pratt & Whitney Canada PW300. The design relies on shaping to reduce radar visibility rather than using radar-absorbent materials, and its resin-infused composite wing is the largest such structure produced by Boeing. The nose module, with an internal volume of 1.5 cubic meters, can be replaced with mission-specific payloads including intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, radar, or electronic warfare systems. Saab supplies the flight control actuators, BAE Systems Australia provides the vehicle management and simulation systems, and the Defence Science and Technology Group contributes aerodynamic and structural testing. The upcoming Block 2 aircraft will incorporate modifications including the removal of the dogtooth wing, wiring changes to improve maintainability, and a new GPS and inertial navigation system.
The Ghost Bat program is Australia’s first domestic combat aircraft development in over fifty years and is being carried out by Boeing Defence Australia with significant local industry participation. More than 200 Australian suppliers are involved in providing components such as avionics, landing gear, and composite structures. Boeing is constructing a 9,000 square meter assembly facility at the Wellcamp Aerospace and Defence Precinct in Toowoomba, Queensland, to support final assembly and integration of the MQ-28. The Australian government has committed over A$1 billion to the Ghost Bat within a larger $10 billion investment in uncrewed systems, of which $4.3 billion is directed specifically to aerial platforms.
Contracts have covered ten Block 1 aircraft and an additional three Block 2 aircraft valued at $400 million. The Block 1 aircraft, which include eight prototypes, will remain developmental test assets, while the Block 2 units will represent the first operational standard. International interest has been reported, with the U.S. Department of Defense acquiring at least one MQ-28 for research and development. The program continues to emphasize that the Ghost Bat will progress from supplementing find, fix, track, and target tasks toward demonstrating engage and assess capabilities once live weapons testing begins.
Written by Jérôme Brahy
Jérôme Brahy is a defense analyst and documentalist at Army Recognition. He specializes in naval modernization, aviation, drones, armored vehicles, and artillery, with a focus on strategic developments in the United States, China, Russia, Türkiye, and Belgium. His analyses go beyond the facts, providing context, identifying key actors, and explaining why defense news matters on a global scale.
