In June 2025, four months ahead of schedule, Boeing and the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) successfully completed the MQ-28 Ghost Bat test programme. According to the company, the Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) proved its operational viability in various scenarios aligned with the RAAF’s mission requirements.
The uncrewed CCA and its digital versions have successfully completed 150 hours of live flying and over 20,000 hours of virtual testing. The RAAF required such an extensive evaluation programme to demonstrate the relevance of the MQ-28 in missions designed to supplement and enhance the capabilities of existing crewed platforms.
The joint Boeing–RAAF test programme, known as Capability Demonstration 2025, was finalised in early June 2025, four months ahead of schedule. The project included several operational missions aimed at validating the MQ-28’s autonomous behaviour 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; and data fusion, including sharing information between multiple MQ-28 aircraft and transmitting that data to a crewed platform.
“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 Programme Director.
“Completing this work early allows us to accelerate the next phases of development – engage and assess – with an air-to-air weapon shot planned for later this year or in early 2026. The demonstrations have proven the maturity of the MQ-28’s capabilities and the utility of CCAs in their application to the future force mix,” – Ferguson added.
The capabilities validated throughout 2025 will be incorporated into the Block 2 aircraft currently being produced, providing the basis of an initial operational capability for the RAAF and allied partners.
Cover photo: The uncrewed Collaborative Combat Aircraft, MQ-28 Ghost Bat (Boeing photo). All photos and quotations © Boeing. Information from The Boeing Company press releases were used.
