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Australia’s Ghost Bat fleet would be expanded under a new half-a-billion-dollar plan announced by the Coalition.
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Prime Minister Scott Morrison has committed to investing a further $454 million to accelerate Boeing Australia’s Loyal Wingman project, which includes the delivery of recently renamed MQ-28A Ghost Bat drones to the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF).
The investment boost, announced during the Coalition's official campaign launch in Brisbane, is expected to fund the development of “a further seven aircraft”, helping to generate more than 120 highly skilled jobs.
This builds on the $155 million already committed for the development of six platforms in March 2021.
“We welcome the announcement by the Australian government to further invest in the development of the MQ-28A Ghost Bat,” a Boeing Australia spokesperson told Defence Connect.
“We will continue to partner with Royal Australian Air Force to accelerate the program and advance the uncrewed teaming capability.”
The next-generation uncrewed aerial system is set to be designed, engineered and manufactured locally from Boeing Australia’s new facility at Wellcamp Airport in Toowoomba, Queensland.
Boeing Australia recently advanced the operational readiness of the platform after demonstrating multiple payloads, semi-autonomous behaviours and crewed-uncrewed teaming in the digital environment.
Late last year, two Loyal Wingman aircraft completed successful flight missions in South Australia’s Woomera Range Complex, marking the first time the landing gear was raised and engaged.
This followed an inaugural flight of the Loyal Wingman in February 2021.
Once fully operational, the platform, which measures 11.7 metres long and boasts a range of 2,000 nautical miles (3,700 kilometres), is tipped to deliver fighter-like performance, while also offering intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities.
By leveraging artificial intelligence, the drones are expected to fly independently or in support of manned aircraft while maintaining safe distance between other jets.
The Ghost Bat program has been lauded as an innovation success, including by US Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall.
Kendall noted the USAF is exploring opportunities to further integrate uncrewed capability, leveraging artificial intelligence.
“The gamble that I’m making in the tech air case is that we’re going to go ahead with uncrewed combat aircraft,” Kendall said.
“We’re going to use technologies that are coming out of programs like the Australian Loyal Wingman program and others, and we’re going to integrate those into our operational capability, and that it’ll be the first time we’ve done that.
“I think the technologies are there to support this now. And I don’t think we need to wait for more development on that. I am more focused on quality than I am on quantity right now.”
[Related: USAF secretary lauds Ghost Bat, eyes AI integration ]
