Contributor - UK

David Donald

By September, Boeing Australia hopes to have demonstrated how its MQ-28A Ghost Bat collaborative combat aircraft (CCA) can fit into a force mix. The uncrewed airplane will employ autonomous behavior to team with crewed assets such as F/A-18s, EA-18Gs, F-35As, and the E-7 Wedgetail airborne early warning aircraft. As of late last year, the CCA had proven its abilities to establish communications links with other aerial assets as well as fuse and share data from sensors and payloads.
The “loyal wingman” was developed to answer a Royal Australian Air Force requirement, and the first air vehicle flew for the first time in February 2021. Eight Block 1 MQ-28As have been built and have racked up more than 100 hours of flight testing, conducted from the Woomera range in South Australia.
“With the airframe largely proven by early 2024, we’ve spent the past 12 to 18 months focusing on developing and proving mission systems,” said MQ-28 global program director Glen Ferguson. “We’re now at the stage where we have successfully proven the platform’s ability to team with multiple aircraft, and we continue to further develop the mission system’s skills.”
Three Block 2 variants feature several improvements, representing the first operational capability standard. Work is underway to establish a final assembly line at Wellcamp Airport near Toowoomba, Queensland, which is scheduled to start production in 2028.
In addition, focusing on the RAAF requirement, Boeing is exploring export opportunities for its CCA, which is acting as a pathfinder for this emerging capability.

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