Ghost Bats to team with Super Hornets, F-35 aircraft this year

CD25 is expected to allow the MQ-28 drones to demonstrate operational effectiveness and how collaborative combat aircraft will integrate and operate with RAAF crewed assets.

“The Ghost Bat has the potential to turn a single fighter jet into a fighting team, with advanced sensors that are like hundreds of eyes in the sky,” according to Australian Minister for Defence Industry and Capability Delivery, Pat Conroy.

Earlier this month, the Australian Defence Force announced that Boeing and the Royal Australian Air Force had successfully conducted a mission against an airborne target using two in-flight MQ-28 Ghost Bat aircraft and a third digital aircraft, all controlled from an airborne E-7A Wedgetail aircraft over Woomera, South Australia.

During the mission, a single operator onboard the E-7A took control of the uncrewed MQ-28s emulating the role they play in flying ahead of and protecting crewed assets.

The trial reportedly validated key interoperability requirements to meet operational capability.

“This trial demonstrates family-of-systems integration, the strength of our open systems architecture, and is a critical first step towards integrating mission partners’ software and communications systems natively into the E-7A Wedgetail,” said MQ-28 Global Programs director, Glen Ferguson.

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“It not only validated a key element of the MQ-28 concept of operations, but also how collaborative combat aircraft can expand and enhance the role of the E-7A to meet future force requirements.

“It is another tangible proof point of the maturity of our program.”

The software was jointly developed and implemented by Boeing Defence Australia, Defence Science and Technology Group and the US Air Force Research Laboratories.

“It has been an exceptional collaborative effort across organisations from government, contractors, and global partners,” said Adam Tsacoumangos, director of Air Dominance Programs for Boeing’s Phantom Works.