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Boeing’s MQ-28A Ghost Bat program has achieved another milestone with the first Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) member taking the controls of the aircraft.
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Royal Australian Air Force Wing Commander Phil Parsons is the first non-Boeing pilot as part of the Ghost Bat program completed Boeing’s training on 13 June, following a career as a remote systems pilot over the past decade.
WGCDR Parsons’ training included observing and monitoring the aircraft as it executed commands to climb and descend, accelerate and decelerate, or navigate to a specific waypoint to achieve test points as part of the current advanced testing program.
As a launch and recovery operator, WGCDR Parsons would oversee launch and recovery of the aircraft, which involves ground preparation, take-off and landing operations.
Glen Ferguson, Boeing Defence Australia MQ-28 program director, detailed the importance of the training program saying, “On completion of the mission, the aircraft would be handed back to the launch and recovery operator to oversee landing, deceleration, and complete stop of the vehicle.”
Boeing’s MQ-28A co-development program with the RAAF is accelerating, with the focus shifting from testing the aircraft’s flying and handling qualities to capability advancement including progressing teaming behaviours, mission systems, sensors and payload testing.
“The MQ-28A, while similar in many aspects of operation to other remotely piloted systems, is embracing technological advancements in how a launch and recovery operator interacts with the aircraft,” WGCDR Parsons said.
The MQ-28 Ghost Bat (formerly known as the Airpower Teaming System) is an uncrewed teaming aircraft designed to be a force multiplier in support of advanced multi-mission air combat operations. The first flight of MQ-28 Ghost Bat was achieved in February 2021, with the test program expanding the flight envelope as the program evolves.
