Boeing unveiled at ILA Berlin 2026 the new capabilities within the MQ-28 Ghost Bat’s roadmap, including internal weapon bays and larger wings.
Boeing has unveiled at the ILA Berlin 2026 airshow the new capabilities that will be added to the MQ-28 Ghost Bat as part of the drone’s technology roadmap. The company says these will “further enhance the platform’s flexibility, range and capacity for global customers.”
New capabilities
The announced enhancements include 25% larger wings, which allows the MQ-28 to carry an additional 2,000 pounds of fuel, stores, and mission payloads. The increased wingspan allows the drone to reach a Maximum Take Off Weight (MTOW) of 12,000 lb (5,400 kg), with a useful load of 4,500 lb (2,000 kg).
“That additional capacity gives operators freedom to balance payload and endurance to configure for the mission at hand, whether that means carrying extra fuel for longer-range operations, increasing weapons carriage, or any combination of both,” said Glen Ferguson, MQ-28 global program director.
✅ >25% larger wing
✅ Increased fuel and payload capacity
✅ Beyond Line of Sight capability
✅ Internal weapons stations for greater mission configurability
MQ-28 Ghost Bat enhancements deliver flexibility, range and capacity advancements.
More: https://t.co/IPZLUy5Qub pic.twitter.com/7EK5fUD11h
— Boeing Australia (@BoeingAustralia) June 10, 2026
Upgrades will also be applied to the software, which will be compliant with Government Reference Architecture, and to the modular, missionized nose. The architecture would support the customization of weapons, payloads, command and control, and mission autonomy based on a customer’s operational requirements, while the upgraded nose would provide enhanced payload configuration options and supports insertion of third-party capability.
The new provisions would allow to carry two AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles or four GBU-39/GBU-53 Small Diameter Bombs (SDBs) internally. Additionally, Boeing says there is the option for three external weapon stations, if required by a customer.
The upgrade is completed by Beyond Line of Sight (BLOS) communications, allowing the MQ-28 to be controlled “at unlimited standoff distances.” The Ghost Bat has a range of over 2,000 nautical miles (3,700 km), with the operator controlling it based on either on the surface or on an airborne platform.
“These features, developed in partnership with the Royal Australian Air Force, will be progressively released to the fleet through a spiral upgrade program, and are available to interested allied countries,” said Ferguson. “Inclusion of features such as BLOS capability are a direct result of our learnings to date along with feedback from Air Forces as they understand more about the role and integration of CCAs into joint force operations.”
In the press release, Boeing did not associate the new capabilities with the MQ-28’s Block 2 currently in production or the future Block 3. However, the new capabilities appear to be in line with some of the details already released on the Block 3.
Aviation Week reported earlier this year that the Block 3 would see the wingspan extended by 20 ft (6 m), although the 25% of the current 24 ft (7.3 m) amounts to only 6 ft (1.8 m). The Block 3 was also expected to include weapon bays sized for AMRAAMs and SDBs.
Additionally, Boeing recently disclosed that it has conducted Radar Cross Section (RCS) testing on the MQ-28. The company said the testing allowed to validate the aircraft’s stealth performance, which adds enhanced survivability to the Ghost Bat.
“The advanced maturity of the MQ-28 systems is what allows us to continually adapt to the changing operational environment and minimise the risk as we transition to operations,” said Amy List, vice president and managing director of Boeing Defence Australia, at ILA 2026. “Combined with the MQ-28’s confirmed low observability characteristics, and survivability upgrades, these capability enhancements support more flexible mission concepts and further allow Defence customers to distribute operational risk.”
The MQ-28 Ghost Bat
Designed by Boeing Defence Australia for the RAAF as a multirole system capable of operating together with crewed aircraft, the Ghost Bat was initially known as the Boeing Airpower Teaming System (ATS). The development started in 2013, with the prototype unveiled for the first time during the 2019 edition of the Australian Airshow and the maiden flight on Feb. 27, 2021, at the Woomera Range Complex in Southern Australia.
The multirole unmanned platform has a 1.5 cubic meter nose that can hold interchangeable payloads for ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance), aerial radar surveillance, EW/ELINT sensors and other attack munitions. The aircraft has been described as a next-generation Loyal Wingman, whose development involved 55 Australian companies and, as of Feb. 2024, had received $600 million in funding.
According to Boeing, the Ghost Bat employs “AI (Artificial Intelligence) to work as a smart team with existing military aircraft to complement and extend airborne missions.” The size of a small, light-weight class fighter, with side air intakes, cranked-kite wings and canted V-tails, the MQ-28 can fly for nearly 3,200 km and “fly independently” with its AI.
Renders from Boeing have shown the Ghost Bat flying with support and special mission aircraft like the E-7A Wedgetail AEW&C aircraft and the F-15EX. According to Ferguson, “during a typical mission, a launch and recovery operator […] would oversee the aircraft as it takes flight.”
“It would then be handed off to a crewed aircraft, such as an E-7A, F-35A or F/A-18F, whose crew tasks it to perform, for example, an intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance mission,” added Ferguson while explaining the concept of operations. The MUM-T (Manned Unmanned Teaming) might not necessarily take place in close formation, but it could work even with the aircraft very far apart over dozens of kilometers, depending on mission requirements.
The heavily stealth-oriented design has also been shown in renderings with three different nose sections, with one integrating an IRST (Infrared Search and Track) sensor. Based on their appearance, the other two could possibly be meant for ISR and EW/ELINT roles, the latter involving locating, jamming or overwhelming adversary ground radars.
The MQ-28 could also serve in an escort role for high-value support assets like the E-7A AEW&C aircraft or KC-30 aerial refuelers. It is however not known if the unmanned aircraft is viewed as an attritable system used for enhancing manned platforms’ survivability. Following the mission’s completion, “the aircraft would be handed back to the launch and recovery operator to oversee landing, deceleration and complete stop of the vehicle,” Ferguson said.
The uncrewed aircraft reached some important milestones in the last year. Among these was the June 2025 test which saw an E-7 Wedgetail controlling two MQ-28s in a mission against a simulated airborne target.
In December 2025, Boeing disclosed the first live-fire test of the MQ-28 with an AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM). On that occasion, the aircraft teamed up with an E-7 Wedgetail and an F/A-18F Super Hornet of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF).
The RAAF described it as “a demonstration of a Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) employing an air-to-air weapon against an aerial target in an operationally relevant scenario.” It is likely the Ghost Bat acted as an off-board weapons release platform, leveraging sensor, detection, control and guidance data from the crewed platforms.
In May 2026, Boeing disclosed that the MQ-28 Ghost Bat is now flying in the U.S., in what has been defined as the first flights abroad. Previously the aircraft flew only in Australia, where the MQ-28 was developed and built by Boeing Australia.
So far, the uncrewed aircraft completed three operational flight tests on the Point Mugu Sea Range at U.S. Naval Base Ventura County, Point Mugu, California. The company did not disclose when these flights were conducted.
However, it was already known that at least one MQ-28 was at NAS Ventura County, as the aircraft was clearly visible in a video released after the U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth to the installation in December 2025. It is possible, however, that two aircraft are currently there as two different aircraft can be seen in the December 2025 and May 2026 videos.
