Australia has strengthened its advanced autonomous aviation capabilities by awarding Boeing Defence Australia a 1.4-billion Australian dollar ($930-million) contract for six additional MQ-28 Ghost Bat Collaborative Combat Aircraft. This major order transforms the Ghost Bat from a research-oriented demonstrator into a platform moving steadily toward frontline operational service with the Royal Australian Air Force. The deal follows the drone’s successful first live-fire event, where it launched an AIM-120 AMRAAM at an aerial target. Under the agreement, Boeing will deliver six Block 2 Ghost Bats while also developing an upgraded Block 3 prototype equipped with improved sensors, a refined airframe, and an internal weapons bay. The program aims for full operational capability by 2028. These aircraft will form part of Australia’s wider uncrewed systems investment worth over 10 billion Australian dollars across the next decade, including 4.3 billion for UAV programs alone. The Ghost Bat initiative already supports over 440 specialized jobs nationwide. Designed as an autonomous combat teaming aircraft, the MQ-28 Ghost Bat enhances the survivability, range, and mission flexibility of manned fighters. Its reconfigurable nose section allows rapid swapping of mission packages such as AESA radars, electronic warfare systems, optical sensors, SIGINT modules, and future miniature weapons bays. With a length of 38 feet and more than 2,000 nautical miles of range, the Ghost Bat provides a cost-effective solution at roughly one-tenth the price of a crewed fighter.
