MQ-28 Ghost Bat

Australia’s stealth multirole uncrewed combat aircraft and loyal wingman — the world’s most advanced non-U.S. collaborative combat aircraft program with a funded program of record and a live-fire weapons engagement.

Overview

The MQ-28 Ghost Bat is a stealthy uncrewed combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) developed by Boeing Defence Australia as a collaborative combat aircraft (CCA) for the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). Originally known as the Boe­ing Airpower Teaming System (ATS), the platform is designed to operate as a force-mul­ti­plier “loyal wingman,” teaming with crewed fighters, airborne early warning aircraft, and refueling tankers. It is the only non-U.S. CCA with a government-funded program of record and a live-fire engagement — the December 2025 de­struc­tion of an aerial target with an AIM-120 AMRAAM, directed by an E-7 Wedgetail and an F/A-18F Super Hornet. That milestone places it ahead of all other non-American loyal-wingman efforts.

Development

Boeing Defence Australia began internal studies of an air-teaming drone in 2013. The program was formally launched in 2018 with initial Australian government fund­ing, and a full-scale prototype was shown at the Avalon Airshow in February 2019. The first flight took place at the RAAF Woomera Range Complex on 27 February 2021, after a rapid build and test cycle. By February 2024 cumulative government in­vestment had reached about AUD$600 million, and more than 35 Australian companies had been brought into the supply chain.

A pivotal step occurred in December 2025 when the Australian Department of Defence awarded Boeing Defence Australia an AUD$754 million Program of Record con­tract (AIR6015 ACP-Air) covering six Block 2 operational-representative aircraft, one Block 3 prototype, and associated support; total government commitment through that tranche reached approximately AUD$1.4 billion, according to Boeing’s press re-lease and the Defence Minister’s official statement. That contract followed a successful live-fire demonstration in which an MQ-28 fired an AIM-120 AMRAAM against an aerial target while cooperating with an E-7 Wedgetail and an F/A-18F. In February 2026 Boeing used the Singapore Airshow to announce Block 3 details — a 7.3 m wing, internal weapon bays, and beyond-line-of-sight satellite connectivity — laying out the production baseline for the RAAF and for export. The Block 3 design was un­veiled with a partner at ILA Berlin in June 2026, when Boeing also stated that a val-idated low-observable airframe would be ready for delivery in 2028.

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