Australia’s first domestically-developed combat aircraft in five decades has started flying from frontline air bases.
The MQ-28 Ghost Bat, a joint development effort between Boeing and the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), has logged its maiden sortie from one of the service’s bases.
Boeing announced the milestone flight on 25 June, noting it occurred in April as part of Exercise Carlsbad at RAAF Tindal in Australia’s Northern Territory region.
The base is already home to the RAAF’s growing fleet of uncrewed Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton maritime surveillance aircraft.
As part of the deployment to Tindal, an MQ-28 was loaded into one of the RAAF’s Boeing C-17 strategic transports and flown from the MQ-28 test centre at the Woomera Range Complex north of Adelaide, South Australia.
“This deployment highlights the maturity of our programme and provides a strong foundation for future capability demonstrations including teaming with crewed RAAF assets,” says Glen Ferguson, Boeing Defence Australia’s MQ-28 global programme director.
Images released by Boeing show the now-familiar MQ-28 airframe, but with a new paint job. Gone is the orange-accented livery of a test aircraft, replaced instead with the uniform dark grey of an operational jet.
Exercise Carlsbad saw the MQ-28 interact with “multiple defence organisations and units”, according to Ferguson.
Senor leaders with the RAAF told FlightGlobal in March they plan to deliver a set of recommendations to the government in Canberra by year’s end for fielding uncrewed combat jets operationally, potentially including the MQ-28.
Air Vice-Marshal Nicholas Hogan, head of capabilities for the RAAF, gave a strong endorsement of the Ghost Bat during an appearance at the Avalon air show near Melbourne, Victoria in late March.
“My view of the MQ-28: it’s world class,” Hogan said. “No doubt in my mind, it is world-leading. MQ-28 will be a very strong contender in any options we take forward to government.”
As the first military aircraft designed and built in Australia in more than 50 years, according to the RAAF, it would be a surprise if Canberra declines to pursue further development of the MQ-28.
The Ghost Bat is also Australia’s first indigenously developed uncrewed combat jet and one of the most mature examples of that burgeoning class in the world, with over 105 sorties to date, according to Boeing, including multi-ship flights.
Most recently, Boeing and the RAAF successfully integrated multiple MQ-28s with one of Australia’s Boeing-made E-7A Wedgetail airborne early warning and control system jets.
Steve Parker, head of Boeing’s defence unit, recently revealed the airframer is searching for a partner in Europe to expand MQ-28 development into the northern hemisphere. The US Air Force (USAF) previously evaluated the type in North America, but ultimately elected not to pursue an acquisition.
Boeing is planning to expand the capabilities of the Ghost Bat to include air-to-air and air-to-ground combat, as well as electronic warfare and other support functions.
Speaking at the Paris air show earlier this month, Parker confirmed plans are still on track to test fire a Raytheon AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile from the MQ-28 later this year.
Boeing faces stiff competition in the market for an uncrewed fighters, which are known by a variety of acronymic designations, including collaborative combat aircraft and autonomous collaborative platforms.
US firms Anduril and General Atomics Aeronautical Systems are both preparing to fly prototype jets for the USAF, which aims to rapidly field a semi-autonomous fighter capable of air-to-air combat in the near future.
The two companies’ designs have been designated the YFQ-44A and YFQ-42A, respectively. Both prototypes are expected to make their maiden flights in the coming weeks.
