Boeing Defence Australia and Defence have recently reaffirmed their commitment to the MQ-28A Ghost Bat ‘loyal wingman’ project and the program has achieved some recent milestones.
BDA’s Director of MQ-28 Global Program, Glen Ferguson, told ADM that the eight prototype aircraft so far built have achieved more than 100 hours of flight testing and 20,000 hours of testing in the digital environment.
“The inclusion of Boeing’s MQ-28A Collaborative Combat Aircraft in the National Defence Strategy (NDS) offers Australia a critical deterrent capability that supports regional stability,” Ferguson said.
“The Ghost Bat is designed to act as a force multiplier, providing the Royal Australian Air Force with affordable mass and flexibility in its force mix, while reducing risk to existing crewed assets.”
BDA is currently producing three more Ghost Bat airframes - to be completed to the latest Block 2 standard - but construction of these will be completed by the end of 2025 and production will end if no further orders materialise.
“We have worked closely with the RAAF to mature the concept of operations for MQ-28,” Ferguson added, “We have made significant progress in the last two years to mature the Ghost Bat capabilities, and we are working towards being able to deliver an operational capability to the RAAF in the next few years.”
For its part, Defence says it is continuing to “develop and assess” the MQ-28A, both to better understand its potential as a platform, as well as how the CCA would fit more broadly into the future force. It says the project will continue through CCA operation and integrated force capability trials during 2025.
“Autonomous collaborative platforms enhance the integrated force’s ability to deliver a ‘Strategy of Denial’, by increasing the lethality and survivability of existing platforms and providing additional combat mass,” a Defence spokesperson said.
“As a subset of autonomous collaborative platforms, CCA like the MQ-28A are designed to operate as part of an integrated system of crewed and uncrewed platforms. Investment in the program is enabling further development of mission payloads, integrated system behaviour and autonomy which will be fully evaluated in a capability demonstration planned through 2025.”
One of the basic pillars of the Ghost Bat program has been its export potential - particularly to the US and other ‘Five-Eyes’ countries - however these plans seemingly received a blow in April, with the down-selection of Anduril and General Atomics to move forward with the US Air Force’s CCA program.
While Boeing did not bid the MQ-28A, preferring a “proprietary solution” that ADM understands better fits US requirements, the reduced opportunity for Ghost Bat in light of these requirements must come as a setback to export plans.
Anduril and General Atomics will have their funding for the detailed design, manufacture and testing of “production representative” test articles continued.
“Just over two years ago, we announced our intent, as part of our operational imperatives, to pursue CCA. Now, following the enactment of the fiscal yar 2024 budget, we’re exercising option awards to two companies to construct production representative test articles,” US Secretary of Air Force Frank Kendall noted at the time of the announcement.
“The progress we’ve made is a testament to the invaluable collaboration with industry, whose investment alongside the Air Force has propelled this initiative forward. It’s truly encouraging to witness the execution of this program.”
This is undoubtedly unwelcome news for Boeing, however, ADM also understands that companies not selected to continue in increment one of the USAF’s CCA program will still be able to bid for this phase, as well as for subsequent contracts.
In the meantime, Defence says that the overarching CCA development project arrangement signed with the US in 2023 will allow it to work closely with Washington on emerging technologies through the sharing of information.
“The CCA market is broad and the capabilities we are developing are focused on meeting the current needs of the ADF,” BDA’s Ferguson added. “As CCA technology matures, we envisage a wide range of mission and capability needs that the MQ-28 is well-equipped to provide.”