Boeing Defence Australia has been selected to supply six more MQ-28 Ghost Bat Collaborative Combat Aircraft under a contract worth 1.4 billion Australian dollars ($930 million).
This major investment moves the Australian-built drone from experimental testing into the pathway for full operational deployment with the Royal Australian Air Force.
The announcement follows the MQ-28’s first live-fire demonstration, in which the drone fired an AIM-120 AMRAAM at an aerial target.
As part of the deal, Australia will receive six Block 2 aircraft, while Boeing will develop an advanced Block 3 prototype within three years to support an intended operational capability milestone in 2028.
The agreement also includes several configuration enhancements, notably the integration of an internal weapons bay.
To date, the country has already acquired eight Block 1 and three Block 2 Ghost Bats.
The acquisition contributes to a broader national commitment of 10 billion Australian dollars ($6 billion) for drone capabilities over the next decade, including at least 4.3 billion Australian dollars ($2.82 billion) dedicated to uncrewed aerial systems.
The program supports a workforce of over 440 highly skilled professionals nationwide.
Acting as a collaborative combat partner, the MQ-28 boosts the reach and survivability of crewed fighters by delivering advanced sensing and targeting functions.
Its modular nose section can be swapped to accommodate various mission payloads—such as AESA radar, electro-optical systems, electronic attack modules, and signals intelligence packages—and is expected to house compact internal weapons in future iterations.
Stretching 38 feet (11.7 meters) in length, the Ghost Bat offers a range beyond 2,000 nautical miles (2,302 miles/3,704 kilometers) and costs about one-tenth of a conventional crewed aircraft.
