Contributor - UK

David Donald

The Australian government late last year approved an AUD$1.4 billion ($977 million) contract for the next step of the Boeing MQ-28 Ghost Bat collaborative combat aircraft (CCA) program for the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). Under this deal, Boeing Australia will build six more Block 2 air vehicles, the first of which is in ground test, and develop the Block 3, which represents the initial operational capability.
Block 3 introduces several changes, including a larger wing, an internal weapons bay, a beyond-line-of-sight datalink that permits untethered operations, and system security enhancements. The air vehicle will also be able to carry weapons externally for certain scenarios. The first operational vehicles are due for delivery to the RAAF in 2028, at which point it is forecast to become—by some considerable margin—the first service in the world to introduce this game-changing operational concept.
Boeing Australia has been working on the CCA concept for around eight years, giving it a head start that has resulted in what is today a mature system. The prototype first flew in February 2021, and a 2024-25 two-year contract saw the system’s capabilities proven in trials conducted in mid-2025. During the trials, two Block 2 Ghost Bats worked with an E-7 Wedgetail and other RAAF assets in a networked team.
Following the successful conclusion of these trials, Boeing added a weapons firing demonstration known as Trial Kareela 25-4. Flying from RAAF Woomera in South Australia, an MQ-28 successfully fired an AIM-120 AMRAAM missile from an external pylon against an aerial target at an operationally relevant range. The target track was provided by an F/A-18F Super Hornet, weapons firing authorization was handled by an E-7, and the weapons firing solution and action were undertaken within the MQ-28’s autonomous system. 
Developing, installing, and proving all the systems and software to support missile firing took just eight months, illustrating the speed at which the Boeing team can implement new capabilities. This is made possible by the digital backbone that underpins the whole system. 
That system is crucial to allowing the Ghost Bat to be adapted for varying requirements. The employment of CCAs is a new concept that has yet to enter operation, and requirements will likely change as operators gain experience with its use. While there is a development roadmap for the MQ-28, or at least a series of capabilities and functions that can be enhanced or added, future development will be heavily informed by real-world use. With last year’s trials, that process is already underway and is being keenly watched by many prospective CCA operators.
As the system is essentially the core of the MQ-28 program, the air vehicle itself can be physically altered to meet changing requirements. The low cost of the attritable design also makes it a cheaper platform for integrating new technology than the crewed fighter it supports. The system can adapt to address individual national sovereignty issues by being modified to local requirements.
Boeing sees an immense demand for CCAs over the next decade, and there are a number of other systems being developed around the world. The company suggests its eight-year head start is a key distinction in what could be a crowded marketplace. 
Moreover, Boeing is offering local production to potential customers. This not only leverages the low-cost, relatively simple airframe design, but also draws on the might of Boeing’s commercial aircraft production machine. From the outset, the MQ-28 was designed around a production system that draws on 787 airliner production technology, including extensive use of robotics. As a result, if a customer wished to build their own MQ-28s, they would require little more than a building to house production.

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