The Boeing MQ-28 Ghost Bat collaborative combat aircraft has made its public flying debut, with a demonstration at Australia’s Woomera test range.
Two MQ-28s participated in the flight, which was attended by reporters who had flown to the remote location aboard a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Leonardo C-27J tactical transport.
The aircraft taxiied to the facility’s runway, took off, and landed after a short flight.
Boeing and RAAF officials say the aircraft has performed well in testing, and completed all milestones.
So far, 150h of flight testing has been undertaken by six prototypes, along with over 20,000h of tests in a virtual environment.
Key programme milestones include multi-ship operations, teaming with an RAAF Boeing E-7 Wedgetail airborne early warning and control aircraft, and data fusion and sharing among multiple MQ-28s and a crewed platform.
“The RAAF set the task of proving the first four steps in the air combat chain for the MQ-28 – and we have accomplished that sooner than expected,” says Glen Ferguson, MQ-28 programme director at Boeing.
”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.”
That test, also to be conducted at Woomera, will see an MQ-28 launch a Raytheon AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile from a centre-mounted pylon.
Boeing Defense Australia is producing three Block 2 aircraft, which will allow for more advanced testing of the type.
Visit FlightGlobal next week to read our full report from the visit.
