Ghost Bat works with Wedgetail to destroy airborne target

An artist's rendering of a Royal Australian Air Force E-7A Wedgetail teaming with two MQ-28 Ghost Bat ‘loyal wingman' collaborative combat aircraft. (Boeing)

In a test of interoperability, Boeing has demonstrated the ability of its autonomous and unmanned MQ-28A Ghost Bat ‘loyal wingman’ aircraft to successfully conduct a mission against an airborne target following commands from an airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) platform.

In the demonstration, which was conducted at the Woomera Test Range in southern Australia, a single operator aboard an airborne Boeing E-7A Wedgetail AEW&C aircraft of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) took “control” of two Ghost Bat collaborative combat aircraft (CCA), the Australian Department of Defence (DoD) said on 16 June.

The MQ-28A aircraft then flew “a mission against an airborne target”, the DoD added.

Boeing added the same day that the Wedgetail operator also controlled a third, digital aircraft during the trial. During the mission, the unmanned MQ-28s “emulated the role they play in flying ahead of and protecting crewed assets”, Boeing said.

According to Glen Ferguson, director of MQ-28 Global Programs, the trial demonstrated family-of-systems integration. It shows “the strength of our open systems architecture, and is a critical first step towards integrating mission partners' software and communications systems natively into the E-7A Wedgetail”, he said.

“It not only validated a key element of the MQ-28 concept of operations (CONOPS), but also how CCA can expand and enhance the role of the E-7A to meet future force requirements,” he added.

Speaking about the milestone test, the Australian Minister for Defence Industry, Pat Conroy, said that “the Ghost Bat has the potential to turn a single fighter jet into a fighting team, with advanced sensors that are like hundreds of eyes in the sky”.