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A trio of Royal Australian Air Force Block 2 variants of the MQ-28 Ghost Bat are expected to be completed by the end of next year, according to information from manufacturer Boeing Australia.
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Boeing has produced a total of eight MQ-28A prototype aircraft, with three RAAF Block 2 variants currently in production and planned to be completed by the end of next year, according to a Boeing spokesperson.
The MQ-28 Ghost Bat uncrewed teaming aircraft are designed to act as a force multiplier in support of advanced multi-mission air combat operations. Ghost Bat development vehicles continue to be manufactured at the company’s Fishermans Bend facility in Victoria.
“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,” a Boeing Australia spokesperson said.
“We have worked closely with RAAF to mature the concept of operations for MQ-28.
“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 Royal Australian Air Force in the next few years.
“MQ-28 was conceived, produced and tested at record speed, and recently Boeing and RAAF marked more than 100 hours of flight testing and 20,000 hours in the digital environment.”
Earlier this year at the Connect Defence Industry Development Strategy Summit 2024, Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy confirmed that there was ongoing interest in both intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance roles for the uncrewed aircraft, as well as acquiring strike capability.
“We have made it clear we are looking for immediate bang for buck [regarding ISR on the Ghost Bat program],” the Minister of Defence Industry and Capability Delivery said at the conference on 6 August.
“Certainly, we are very open for Ghost Bat to have strike capability, we just want the intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance first.”
