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According to the report, Australia has contracted Boeing Defense Australia to supply an additional six MQ-28 Ghost Bat Collaborative Combat Aircraft. The 1.4-billion Australian dollar ($930-million) agreement advances the Australian-designed and -built platform from a technology demonstrator to operational capability for the Royal Australian Air Force.
The report also said that the contract follows the Ghost Bat’s first live-wire weapon test, during which the drone launched an AIM-120 AMRAAM at an aerial target. Under the deal, six Block 2 Ghost Bats will be delivered, and an enhanced Block 3 prototype will be developed over the next three years to support the goal of achieving operational capability by 2028.
The agreement also incorporates several design updates, including the addition of an internal weapons bay.
The report added that the aircraft features a reconfigurable nose section that can be swapped out to carry mission-specific payloads, including AESA radar, electro-optical sensors, electronic attack suites, signals intelligence packages, and, in the future, compact internal weapons bays.
In addition to the report, at 38 feet (11.7 meters) long, the MQ-28 delivers a range exceeding 2,000 nautical miles (2,302 miles/3,704 kilometers) and costs about one-tenth of a typical crewed aircraft.
Source: The Defense Post
The report also said that the contract follows the Ghost Bat’s first live-wire weapon test, during which the drone launched an AIM-120 AMRAAM at an aerial target. Under the deal, six Block 2 Ghost Bats will be delivered, and an enhanced Block 3 prototype will be developed over the next three years to support the goal of achieving operational capability by 2028.
The agreement also incorporates several design updates, including the addition of an internal weapons bay.
The report added that the aircraft features a reconfigurable nose section that can be swapped out to carry mission-specific payloads, including AESA radar, electro-optical sensors, electronic attack suites, signals intelligence packages, and, in the future, compact internal weapons bays.
In addition to the report, at 38 feet (11.7 meters) long, the MQ-28 delivers a range exceeding 2,000 nautical miles (2,302 miles/3,704 kilometers) and costs about one-tenth of a typical crewed aircraft.
Source: The Defense Post
