A decision on whether to commit to production of the MQ-28 Ghost Bat autonomous system for the RAAF is due soon. Photo: Boeing.
The Royal Australian Air Force’s (RAAF) MQ-28 Ghost Bat development program has completed a series of capability demonstrations aimed at proving the operational viability of the autonomous aircraft, moving it one step closer to a decision on whether it will be acquired by Australia.
Known as a Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA), the Ghost Bat has been under development as part of the RAAF’s uncapitalised DEF 6014 program since being unveiled as Boeing Phantom Works’ Australian team’s locally developed Airpower Teaming System (ATS) at the 2019 Avalon Air Show.
The ‘’Loyal Wingman’’ concept of the ATS meant it was initially designed to carry payloads aimed at augmenting sensor, electronic warfare, or other payloads carried by crewed systems, including combat aircraft or high-value assets such as the P-8A Poseidon, E-7A Wedgetail or KC-30A tanker.
After the successful first flight of an ATS at Woomera in February 2021, additional Loyal Wingmen air vehicles were produced to take the total of initial Block 1 aircraft to eight. And in an official naming ceremony at RAAF Base Amberley in March 2022, the system was given the MQ-28A Ghost Bat name and designation.
The Loyal Wingman concept has since evolved to that of a CCA, and has seen the Ghost Bat become more of an extension of the crewed combat aircraft it will operate with, such as the F-35, EA-18G Growler, and F/A-18F Super Hornet.
This is likely to see the uncrewed aircraft adopt some of the higher-risk elements of a mission, such as forward intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) tasking, and strike missions in denied or contested airspace.
In line with a recommendation from the 2022 Defence Strategic Review (DSR), the Commonwealth signed a CCA development project arrangement with the US Air Force in March 2023, and it was also reported that two Ghost Bats had been sent to the US for evaluation.
In February 2024, the Commonwealth added an additional $400 million to fund three air vehicles in a Block 2 “enhanced design” to support ongoing test and evaluation work at Woomera, which recently culminated in the program’s capability demonstration.
Part of the demonstration saw a Ghost Bat deployed to RAAF Base Tindal in the Northern Territory, the first time Ghost Bat had been deployed away from Woomera.
The deployment – dubbed Exercise Carlsbad – saw the air vehicle and about 45 support personnel establish a footprint at the base, where a ground control station was set up, the air vehicle was reassembled, taxied and flown, and maintenance was performed.
The deployment was also the first opportunity for Ghost Bat to be integrated and operate with other air force units, including 9 Squadron, which operates the uncrewed MQ-4C Triton; 75 Squadron, which flies the F-35A; and 452 Squadron, which is the local air traffic control unit.
The Exercise Carlsbad deployment saw the MQ-28 capability integrate with other aircraft and units based at RAAF Tindal, including the F-35As of 75 Squadron (left) and the uncrewed MQ-4C Tritons of 9 Squadron (centre). Photo: ADF.
Following Exercise Carlsbad, an Integrated Systems demonstration was conducted whereby two MQ-28As were controlled by an operator in an RAAF Boeing E-7A Wedgetail AEW&C aircraft on a mission against an airborne target.
The E-7A control test demonstrated the ability to hand off the aircraft from the ground-based controller, who launched and recovered the air vehicle, to an airborne controller who then oversaw the mission.
Other tests conducted over the past year include autonomous behaviour and mission execution, multi-ship operations to provide combat mass, and data fusion and sharing data between multiple MQ-28 aircraft and transmission of that data to a crewed platform.
Boeing’s MQ-28 Global program director Glen Ferguson said the RAAF set the task of proving the first four steps in the air combat chain for the MQ-28, and these were accomplished ahead of schedule.
“Completing this work early allows us to accelerate the next phases of development – engage and assess – with an air-to-air weapon shot planned for later this year or in early 2026,” he said.
“The demonstrations have proven the maturity of the MQ-28’s capabilities and the utility of CCAs and their application to the future force mix.”
At a media demonstration at Woomera on 5 September – to which no Australian specialist defence media were invited – Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy described the Ghost Bat as the “cutting edge of air power” and the “cutting edge of the Australian defence industry”.
“Behind us right now is the first combat aircraft designed and made in Australia in 50 years,” he said.
“And we are truly leading the world with this capability. This platform is hitting every major milestone, and I’m pleased to announce today that it has successfully completed all of its scheduled test activities for 2025.
“The next milestone for this incredibly innovative aircraft is the test firing of a missile, because our intention is that this aircraft will be a collaborative combat aircraft able to detect, track and destroy enemy combatants.
“Government will then, in the next little while, make decisions about what is the next stage of the aircraft.
“I’m not going to get ahead of government decision-making, but I will say that so far we’ve been absolutely satisfied it’s been hitting every milestone, and we see a definite role for this in the future mix.”
