Boeing Defence Australia completed a test campaign demonstrating the MQ-28A’s cooperative capabilities together with RAAF crewed platforms.
Boeing Defence Australia announced on Sep. 5, 2025, the successful completion of the MQ-28A Ghost Bat’s Capability Demonstration 2025 test campaign with the RAAF (Royal Australian Air Force). The testing was conducted between April and June, proving the MQ-28A’s operational viability four months ahead of schedule.
We reported about these tests previously here at The Aviationist. As Boeing has now noted once again, these tests set the stage for the first air-to-air weapon shot planned for later this year or early-2026. “The capabilities validated throughout 2025 will be incorporated into the Block 2 aircraft now in production, forming the basis of an initial operational capability for the RAAF and allied partners,” the company added.
The Block 2 mention refers to the new variant of the MQ-28 Ghost Bat CCA (Collaborative Combat Aircraft), which the company already mentioned was in production in January 2025. The first of the new aircraft is expected to start testing by the end of the year.
The successive stages of the testing are consistent with previous reports and statements that outlined this very roadmap in the MQ-28A program’s progression. The company has now listed and described five of the mission sets that validated “the collaborative combat aircraft capability in multiple scenarios aligned to RAAF mission requirements.”
These are:
- Autonomous behaviours and mission execution;
- Multi-ship operations to provide combat mass;
- Deployment operations to RAAF Base Tindal;
- Teaming with an E-7A Wedgetail airborne early warning and control aircraft;
- Data fusion and sharing data between multiple MQ-28 aircraft and transmission of that data to a crewed platform.
✅Find ✅Fix ✅Track ✅Target
Tasked by the @AusAirForce, we proved the MQ‑28 can execute these critical air‑combat steps — ahead of schedule. Collaborative combat aircraft flying with crewed platforms means better threat awareness, faster decisions and safer crews.
More:… pic.twitter.com/tX50cs3Jz5
— Boeing Australia (@BoeingAustralia) September 5, 2025
The exercises in detail
Two known exercises can be assumed to have covered the abovementioned five testing areas. One involved two MQ-28As teaming up with an E-7A Wedgetail, conducting a mission against a simulated target in an undated and undisclosed drill the company announced on Jun. 16, 2025.
The other, called Exercise Carlsbad and conducted in early April, saw the RAAF operating the MQ-28A from RAAF Base Tindal in the Northern Territory. This marked the first time it operated outside the dedicated Woomera Training Area in Southern Australia.
Boeing and the Australian Department of Defence first revealed information about this drill between Jun. 20 and Jun. 25. The images, videos and description of Exercise Carlsbad also revealed a few other interesting facets.
These included the Ghost Bat, MQ-4C Triton ISR drone and an RAAF F-35A Lightning II captured together while being parked and taxing. Thus we concluded that the official statements, images, the picture captions and the context of the exercise were short of an explicit confirmation that the Ghost Bat may have interacted with the F-35A and the MQ-4C in the air.
The undisclosed interaction may have involved establishing elementary communication, coordination and data linking protocols. Then, we also noted how the AI-enabled autonomous drone seen in that video had a full dark-grey paint scheme, compared to the one with multiple orange parts seen so far on the Ghost Bats. Of the eight Block 1 Ghost Bats that have been reported to be produced, up to four have been photographed with this livery.
The real MQ-28 platforms and digital versions have now completed 150 flight hours and 20,000+ hours of virtual testing, respectively.
Block 2 variant
As The Aviationist reported, the Block 2 Ghost Bats will not have significant airframe changes. They would lose the dogtooth wing sported on the Block 1s, while other upgrades would involve maintenance-friendly internal components, and a new Global Positioning System (GPS)/Inertial Navigation System (INS).
We’ve completed our first flight at an operational Air Force base with the support of @AusAirForce, testing our ability to deploy and fly from unfamiliar environments.
📷 F-35A Lightning II taxis past MQ-28 at RAAF Base Tindal.
More: https://t.co/5xtbn6acpC pic.twitter.com/qRjI7OcJXV
— Boeing Australia (@BoeingAustralia) June 25, 2025
The Block 1’s low-observability-optimized design has also been shown with three different nose sections in computerized illustrations, with one sporting what seems like a FLIR/IRST (Forward-Looking Infrared/Infrared Search and Track). The Ghost Bat’s 1.5 cubic meter nose can carry interchangeable ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance), aerial radar surveillance and EW/ELINT payloads.
MQ-28A role and goal
The rapid progress of the MQ-28A Ghost Bat comes as GA-ASI flew its own YFQ-42A CCA for the U.S. Air Force. The service was previously reported as a potential customer of the Australian platform, although the aircraft did not end up in the CCA Increment 1 program. However, an acquisition by the U.S. would spread out the costs and ease logistics thanks to the higher number of aircraft produced.
Flight of the Ghost Bat! ✈️👻🦇
The MQ-28A Ghost Bat achieved first flight outside of Woomera Training area during Exercise Carlsbad.
Ghost Bat is the first military aircraft designed and built in Australia in more than 50 years. #YourADF pic.twitter.com/mO3Y0upyB6
— Defence Australia (@DefenceAust) June 21, 2025
The RAAF’s formal concept under the Airpower Teaming System envisions the employment of the MC-55A Peregrine, E-7A Wedgetail and multirole aircraft like the F-35A Lightning II and the E/A-18G Growler as a combined network of multirole strike and electromagnetic sensing aircraft. The Ghost Bat was later revealed as a key element in this network, with concept illustrations from Boeing showing the CCA flying with the E-7A Wedgetail, beside the F-15EX and the EA-18G Growler.
Boeing previously said the AI-enabled Ghost Bat can “work as a smart team with existing military aircraft to complement and extend airborne missions.” It could also serve in an escort role for high-value support assets such as the E-7A or KC-30 aerial refueler.
The MQ-28A is meant to “to team with crewed platforms performing mission roles and responsibilities typical of fighter aircraft, complementing and extending airborne missions while increasing situational awareness and survivability,” an earlier Australian Department of Defence previously said.
In its latest statement, Boeing described the MQ-28A as “a unique autonomous capability designed to complement the find, fix, track and target elements of air combat with autonomous behaviours and reduced risk to crewed platforms.”
The DSR acknowledges the importance of the MQ-28A Ghost Bat to our air domain.
As the first military combat aircraft in 50 years to be designed, engineered & manufactured in 🇦🇺 #AusAirForce recognises how our #STEMProfessionals are enhancing Air Force capability.#scienceweek pic.twitter.com/3wsTrPeYtw
— Air Marshal Stephen Chappell (@CAF_Australia) August 16, 2023
“The RAAF set the task of proving the first four steps in the Air Combat chain for the MQ-28 – and we have accomplished that sooner than anticipated,” said Glen Ferguson, MQ-28 Global program director.
The company is now accelerating to the next phase of an air-to-air weapon employment test planned for later this year or in early 2026. “The demonstrations have proven the maturity of MQ-28’s capabilities and the utility of CCA’s and their application to the future force mix,” Ferguson added.
