Australia Contracts Boeing for Six Additional MQ-28 Ghost Bat Drones Worth $930 Million

Australia has contracted Boeing Defence Australia for six MQ-28 Ghost Bat Collaborative Combat Aircraft under a 1.4 billion AUD ($930 million) agreement. This contract transitions the Australian-designed platform to operational capability for the Royal Australian Air Force.

The deal follows the Ghost Bat's successful live-fire weapon test, wherein it launched an AIM-120 AMRAAM missile. Six Block 2 Ghost Bats will be delivered, and an enhanced Block 3 prototype will be developed over the next three years, aiming for operational capability by 2028.

The agreement includes design updates such as an internal weapons bay. Australia has previously ordered eight Block 1 and three Block 2 Ghost Bats. This initiative is part of a broader 10 billion AUD ($6 billion) investment in drones over the next decade, with 4.3 billion AUD ($2.82 billion) allocated to uncrewed aerial systems, supporting over 440 high-skilled jobs nationwide.