DefenseAustralia’s MQ-28 Ghost Bat Conducts First Autonomous Air-to-Air Missile Shot
Boeing and the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) have carried out the first autonomous air-to-air weapon engagement from an MQ-28 Ghost Bat, firing an AIM-120 AMRAAM at a fighter-class target drone during a recent test mission.
The demonstration placed the uncrewed aircraft in a mixed formation with an E-7A Wedgetail and an F/A-18F Super Hornet. All three aircraft launched from separate locations before joining the scenario.
Airborne control of the MQ-28 was handled by a Wedgetail operator, who held responsibility for safety and engagement authority throughout the event.
According to Boeing, the Super Hornet worked with the MQ-28 in combat formation and supplied sensor coverage. After the crewed fighter identified and tracked the target drone, it shared the data across the three platforms.
The MQ-28 repositioned itself, received authorization from the E-7A crew, and released an AIM-120 that destroyed the target.
Boeing describes the mission as a demonstration of its autonomy architecture, which uses open standards intended to support integration with a broad mix of combat aircraft.
The company says hardware, software and mission systems for the live firing were developed and integrated in less than eight months.
Days before the MQ-28 test, Turkey’s Baykar reported that its Bayraktar Kizilelma unmanned fighter had carried out a similar trial, firing a Gökdoğan air-to-air missile to destroy an aerial target in a 30 November demonstration.
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