FARNBOROUGH, UK—The MQ-28 Ghost Bat, an unmanned collaborator developed by Boeing for the Royal Australian Air Force, recently made history as the first collaborative combat aircraft (CCA) to fly alongside U.S. aircraft during a major multinational exercise. Although Boeing was not selected for the U.S. Air Force’s initial CCA production contracts last month, company leadership suggests this participation marks a significant milestone for the platform’s future deployment.
The Ghost Bat, which officially debuted at an airshow in England this week, participated in the Valiant Shield exercise last month in the Northern Mariana Islands. During a press briefing on Tuesday, Glen Ferguson, Boeing Defense Australia’s MQ-28 global programs director, characterized the deployment as a “first step” toward integrating CCAs into active military operations. He indicated that further opportunities for the platform are expected.
“As far as next steps, there’s not too many exercises these days that are single-country exercises, and Valiant Shield wasn’t,” Ferguson said. “Things like Talisman Saber next year—40,000 people turning up to Australia across the Pacific and Indo region, they’re the opportunities to go and do that. I think you’ll see us, in the Australian Air Force in particular, applying these assets into those exercises as operational capabilities to test and develop their tactics.”
Two years ago, the U.S. Air Force moved away from Boeing during the first increment of its CCA program, awarding contracts to Anduril and General Atomics instead. However, late last year, the service began funding a second iteration of CCA development. It remains unclear if Boeing is a candidate for this second phase, and Ferguson declined to comment on increment two.
In a recent news release, Boeing noted that the Ghost Bat is the first and only CCA to be deployed in a multinational, joint operational environment. “Having the MQ-28 participate in such a significant military training exercise is a first, and this is just the start of demonstrating how advanced human-machine teaming extends the reach and awareness of crewed platforms and enhances joint force operations,” said Steve Parker, President and CEO of Boeing Defense, Space and Security.
Ferguson noted that Navy Adm. Sam Paparo, head of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, expressed satisfaction with the presence of a CCA in the region, stating that U.S. government officials were “very happy to have a CCA in the Pacific theater.”
The U.S. Air Force indicated that the use of Boeing’s CCA was intended to project new technological capabilities throughout the Pacific. “By advancing human-machine teaming, we are increasing our power projection while building a more resilient, capable, and lethal joint force,” said U.S. Air Force Maj. Daniel Pesich, the Experimental Operations Unit’s CCA detachment officer in charge.
According to Boeing, the drone wingman operated alongside a diverse fleet, including F-35s, F-15EX, HC-130, E-3, E-2D, EA-18G, and RC-135 aircraft. U.S. officials aim to field their first 100 operational CCAs by 2029.
Global interest in CCA technology is growing. Beyond the Royal Australian Air Force’s ongoing Ghost Bat orders, Germany is also considering the Boeing drone wingman. Germany’s Bundeswehr aims to field its first operational drone wingmen by 2029. Earlier this year, a consortium including Rheinmetall and Boeing Australia offered the Ghost Bat to the German market, a team that has since expanded to include Diehl Defence and Rohde & Schwarz. Most recently, the German electronics company HENSOLDT joined the Boeing Ghost Bat industrial team.