SINGAPORE \u2014 Australia is one of the pioneers exploring collaborative combat aircraft, or CCAs, as it throws its full weight behind Boeing Defence Australia\u2019s MQ-28A Ghost Bat platform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) already has eight Block 1 aircraft in testing. In addition, the first of three Block 2 aircraft ordered in February 2024 is currently performing ground testing and will fly soon, according to the manufacturer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On Dec. 9, 2025, Boeing Defence Australia announced the RAAF had ordered seven additional Ghost Bats. This third tranche worth AUS$754 million (US$534 million) entails six CCAs in Block 2 configuration plus the first-ever Block 3 aircraft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This will put the Australian air force on a path to have 10 operational Ghost Bats by 2028.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Australia, worried by the military rise of China, is prioritizing long-range deterrence. Unmanned systems like the Ghost Bat are a prominent part of that puzzle, allowing Australia to project airpower far from its shores.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Boeing Defence Australia conducted two demonstrations in recent months. The first involved a pair of MQ-28As flying in formation, with an E-7A Wedgetail early-warning aircraft acting as a quarterback.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat mission was to go out there against a representative target at a representative range and achieve the find, fix, track, target piece of the air-to-air kill chain,\u201d Glen Ferguson, MQ-28 Global Program Director at Boeing Defence, said at the Singapore Airshow this month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What followed was the MQ-28A\u2019s first-ever missile firing on Dec. 8, 2025. This involved a Ghost Bat launching an externally mounted AIM-120 AMRAAM against a Phoenix drone. An F\/A-18F Super Hornet fed targeting data, while an E-7A provided command and control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe did the engage-assess part of the kill chain, and we did it on purpose to show that all spectrums of the mission can be covered through a mix of crewed and uncrewed teaming,\u201d Ferguson said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Block 3\u2019s internal weapons bay is provisioned to carry one AMRAAM-sized or two GBU-39\/B bomb-sized weapons. Boeing has trialed an electronic warfare payload and infrared seeker, as well as three or four other sensor packages that Ferguson declined to discuss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe thing about CCAs that we\u2019re learning is they\u2019re not replacement aircraft,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According Pat Conroy, Australia\u2019s minister for defense industry, the government is eying a fleet mix of at least least three uncrewed aerial platforms for every crewed combat aircraft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Construction of a Ghost Bat production facility in Toowoomba, Queensland, will conclude this year, allowing it to begin operations in 2027.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Australia\u2019s goal is for a Ghost Bat to cost 10% of a crewed combat aircraft, a target that Boeing believes it can reach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019re really, really comfortable with our affordability,\u201d said Ferguson. \u201cWe\u2019ve built this aircraft from day one to be affordable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Exports are part of Boeing\u2019s objective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019re having conversations with a lot of customers right now about how they might feel or determine or deliver a CCA capability,\u201d said Ferguson, who mentioned Japan as a potential collaborator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite Boeing\u2019s early start in the CCA testing business, Ghost Bat is not without competitors. Anduril Industries exhibited its Fury \u2013 designated the YFQ-44 by the U.S. Air Force \u2013 in Australia last year. General Atomics is also working on its Gambit family of collaborative combat aircraft.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Royal Australian Air Force is on track to have 10 operational Ghost Bat collaborative combat aircraft by 2028.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":120719,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":21,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[29,21],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3379],"class_list":["post-38378","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-home","category-unmanned"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"QCDTEWRDDRGERGQTR2W3QYNPZU","arc_canonical_url":"\/global\/asia-pacific\/2026\/02\/17\/australia-prepares-for-next-batch-of-ghost-bat-warplane-buddy-drones\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\n