Page 2 - AVALON 2023 - Day 3 | DAILY NEWS

© Boeing Defence Australia

GHOST BAT IS

GETTING READY TO HUNT

Perhaps Boeing Defence Australia’s military combat aircraft in more than 50 going to integrate those into our opera-
MQ-28A Ghost Bat has a soft spot for the years. The name comes from a native spe- tional capability, and that it’ll be the first
Avalon Airshow, because it was at this cies of bat that likes to detect and hunt prey time we’ve done that.’
very event that it made its debut in 2019! in packs.
Since that time, the programme has made Given the sensitivity of US technology, it is
substantive progress, achieving its maiden Measuring 11.7m long, it was engineered no small matter for the Ghost Bat’s makers
flight on 27 February 2021, and the first sys- and manufactured at Wellcamp Airport in to get permission for the UAV to link fully
tems could enter RAAF service in 2024/25. Toowoomba, Queensland. In fact, 70+% of and digitally with the F-35 fighter.
the aircraft comes from domestic sources.
Demonstrating the progress made, Boeing Boeing Defence Australia refers to the
had a flight-capable testbed on display at The MQ-28A has a range of 3,700km and platform by the name Airpower Teaming
Avalon Airshow 2023. It is also understood possesses an internal payload bay. The System. It has been conducting a test-
that one of these unmanned aircraft is cur- plan is that loyal wingmen would work ing regime using a digital twin of the
rently in the USA for tests with the US Air alongside manned aircraft like the F-35A actual aircraft. In this way, its creator has
Force, although neither Boeing Defence and F/A-18 Super Hornet, gathering data, successfully demonstrated multiple pay-
Australia nor the RAAF would confirm this jamming enemy radars and communi- loads, semiautonomous behaviours and
is so. cations, and even launching attacks on crewed-uncrewed teaming in a digital
targets. environment.

In May 2022, the government promised that
seven additional MQ-28A UAVs would be Australia plans that the MQ-28A will be It is informative that the RAAF’s unmanned
interoperable with allies and partners programme has proceeded well, whereas
procured for the RAAF at a cost of AUD454 in the Indo-Pacific region. In fact, US Air the army’s effort to obtain MQ-9B Sky
million (USD319.3 million). This is on top of Force Secretary Frank Kendall commented: Guardians was terminated, ostensibly for
three aircraft already funded in March 2021, ‘The gamble that I’m making in the tech budgetary reasons.
and three used as test-beds by Boeing air case is that we’re going to go ahead
defence Australia. with uncrewed combat aircraft. We’re going Export prospects remain very much part of
to use technologies that are coming out Boeing Defence Australia’s ambitions for
The Ghost Bat is a loyal wingman, and it of programmes like the Australian Loyal the MQ-28A, although the RAAF as launch
is Australia’s first domestically produced Wingman programme and others, and we’re customer remains the primary focus.
2 | MARCH-02-2023 WWW.GBP.COM.SG/DAILY NEWS