--- title: "MQ-28 Ghost Bat Is Of “Strong Interest” To The U.S. Navy" description: "The Navy is involved in testing of Australia’s MQ-28, and the drone could be well placed to capitalize on the service’s emerging CCA program. The Navy is involved in testing of Australia’s MQ-28, and the drone could be well placed to capitalize on the service’s emerging CCA program." date: "2025-04-15" modified: "2025-04-15" authors: - name: "Thomas Newdick" job_title: "Staff Writer" link: "https://www.twz.com/authors/thomas-newdick.md" url: "https://www.twz.com/air/mq-28-ghost-bat-of-strong-interest-to-u-s-navy" categories: - "Air" - "Air Forces" - "Loyal Wingman" - "MQ-28" - "Navies" - "Royal Australian Air Force" - "Sea" - "U.S. Air Force" - "U.S. Navy" - "Unmanned" tags: - "Tailhook 2025" --- # MQ-28 Ghost Bat Is Of “Strong Interest” To The U.S. Navy ![The U.S. Navy is touting the U.S.-Australian MQ-28 Ghost Bat ‘loyal wingman’ type drone program as a model for future industrial partnerships, while confirming continued U.S. military interest in the drone. The fact that the Navy is now speaking about this is notable, on the one hand because the MQ-28 has so far been seen primarily as a program of interest for the U.S. Air Force, and on the other because the Navy is currently still trying to nail down its carrier-based Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) plans.]() *Boeing Australia* The U.S. Navy is touting the U.S.-Australian [MQ-28 Ghost Bat]() ‘loyal wingman’ type drone program as a model for future industrial partnerships, while confirming continued U.S. military interest in the drone. The fact that the Navy is now speaking about this is notable, on the one hand because the MQ-28 has so far been seen primarily as a program of interest for the U.S. Air Force, and on the other because the Navy is [currently still working to define]() its carrier-based [Collaborative Combat Aircraft]() (CCA) plans. ![]() *Ghost Bat drones alongside a Super Hornet. *Boeing** Asked by *TWZ* about what the Navy is seeking to get from the MQ-28 and its wider goal for the platform, Capt. Ron Flanders, public affairs officer at the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development & Acquisition (RDA), said: *“The partnership between the United States and Australia on the MQ-28 represents a new model of joint development, where allied nations co-design and co-produce high-end military capabilities. The U.S. has expressed strong interest in leveraging the MQ-28's AI-driven autonomy and modular design for future air combat operations.”* The joint development of high-technology military hardware, as referenced in the first part of this response, [is not restricted to the MQ-28](), of course, and there are already other [big-ticket programs involving U.S. and Australian collaboration](). The second part of the answer is somewhat more intriguing since it does suggest the Navy may well also be looking seriously at how it might leverage the MQ-28 — and related technologies. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqFP8O4jD40 It only emerged in 2019 that Australia was working together with Boeing on the MQ-28, originally referred to [as the Airpower Teaming System]() (ATS). The [first flight]() of one of these drones occurred in 2021. Meanwhile, three Ghost Bat prototypes are known to have been built and flight-tested in Australia. As it now stands, Boeing is planning to build the MQ-28 in Queensland, Australia, and provide them to the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) as [an important part of the service’s future plans](). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKSfU-algNc&t=1s As of 2022, the RAAF said it wanted to [acquire at least 10 MQ-28s]() by the end of 2025, at which point it would begin flying them operationally. Last month, Boeing provided [an update on the program](), pointing to plans for a series of flight-test demonstrations later this year, which will include MQ-28s teaming with crewed assets, such as E-7 Wedgetail and F-35 stealth fighter, to complete operationally relevant missions. As of March of this year, the test team had recorded 100 test flights. Meanwhile, the U.S. Air Force has also said it will [make use of a Ghost Bat]() for testing purposes, with the design serving as what it describes as [a “technology feeder”]() for the [service’s CCA program](). ![]() *A U.S. Air Force CGI screencap depicting an MQ-28 Ghost Bat flying together with an F-22 Raptor stealth fighter. *U.S. Air Force** In February of last year, the Australian Department of Defense [disclosed]() that it had “signed a CCA development project arrangement with the United States on 30 March 2023.” While this was widely presumed to relate to the Air Force CCA program, it could also refer to the Navy effort. However, while the U.S. Air Force [has now chosen its two CCA designs]() — at least competing for Increment 1 of that effort — the U.S. Navy is taking a more circumspect approach, [as we discussed in depth only recently](). ![]() *A composite rendering of the CCA designs that General Atomics, at top, and Anduril, at bottom, are currently developing, along with their new formal designations. *General Atomics/Anduril** At this point, it’s also worth noting that Increment 2 of the Air Force’s CCA effort could be the first [to include foreign participation](), something the service has confirmed in the past. This could well provide another opportunity for the MQ-28 with the Air Force. Meanwhile, the Navy still plans to develop and field carrier-based CCAs that will work alongside the service’s fighter aircraft in a force-multiplying role, but, for the time being at least, the service is focusing more on its [MQ-25 Stingray tanker drone]() and [its supporting infrastructure](), while allowing the other services, [especially the U.S. Air Force, to prove out]() the CCA concept. ![]() *MQ-25 demonstrator connects with an F/A-18F during testing. *U.S. Navy** It’s this approach that makes the Navy’s statement on the MQ-28 all the more interesting, suggesting that the Ghost Bat could find a way into the service’s CCA thinking. On the other hand, there is evidence that the Navy is currently [interested in cheaper and more disposable CCAs]() than the Air Force, which is pursuing a [much higher-end capability]() with [unit costs in the tens of millions](). That would appear to count against the MQ-28, which is a larger and more expensive design. Boeing has already pitched the MQ-28 for carrier-based applications, with a rendering of a variant or derivative of the drone with a visible tail hook shown landing on a carrier in a briefing put together by the [Royal Navy in the United Kingdom](). Boeing subsequently confirmed that this was a company image, and as such could be intended for the U.S. Navy, too. https://twitter.com/GarethJennings3/status/1628029822902407169 “We are studying future options to meet the forecast capability requirements both locally and internationally,” Boeing told *TWZ* in 2023, in response to questions about this particular development. “We cannot disclose specific variant details.” Overall, the design of the MQ-28 emphasizes a high degree of modularity, including a rapidly swappable nose section. It also makes extensive use of open-architecture mission systems, as you can read more about [here](). Should the U.S. Navy — or another customer — decide to pursue the development of a carrier-based MQ-28, these factors would make that process easier. Whether it’s the Navy or the Air Force, *TWZ* has previously [laid out a detailed case]() for how the trilateral [Australia-United Kingdom-United States]() (AUKUS) defense cooperation agreement, specifically, could provide an ideal framework for cooperation on the Air Force CCA program, and the same applies to the Navy’s version of the same program, or another adjacent effort. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4w0DgiNEyM&t=2s There is also emerging evidence indicating that the U.S. Navy is [already involved in the MQ-28 test program]() as it seeks to define its CCA requirements. [An official biography]() of Cmdr. James Moore Licata, callsign “Two Times,” states that, in February 2023, he reported to the “Ghost Wolves” of Air Test & Evaluation Squadron 24 (UX-24) at Webster Naval Outlying Field, Maryland, to assume the role of government flight test director for Advanced Development efforts. Here, Licata “served as the military Test and Evaluation lead for U.S. Navy Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) and the U.S. Navy’s principal test representative in the CCA Development Project Arrangement between the United States and Australian governments.” Licata left that assignment in February of this year, joining [Air Test & Evaluation Squadron 31]() (VX-31) at China Lake, California, as chief test pilot. While the biography doesn’t mention MQ-28 by name, the description of a “CCA Development Project Arrangement” involving the U.S. and Australian governments suggests that Ghost Bat would have been at least a major focus of that effort. The U.S. Navy and RAAF also operate the [MQ-4C Triton]() high-altitude long-endurance drone, providing further options for cooperation in the uncrewed realm. On the other hand, the Australian government [specifically refers to the MQ-28 as a CCA](), something that would not apply to the Triton, for example. It’s also worth noting that an MQ-28 has been in the United States for some time, for testing, and this and the MQ-25 demonstrator have been sighted together at MidAmerica Airport outside of St. Louis, Missouri. [As you can read about here](), the first photos of a Ghost Bat in the United States, which were published by Boeing in 2023, showed the two drones side-by-side at this location, also pointing to potential crossover with the Navy’s MQ-25. In particular, the MQ-25 program will feed into Navy CCA efforts in terms of developing the infrastructure required to operate fixed-wing drones on a regular basis from carrier decks. ![]() *In 2023, the MQ-28 and the MQ-25 demonstrator, the latter also known as the T1, appeared side-by-side at MidAmerica Airport, Missouri, which is also known to be [the home of the T1 demonstrator](). *Boeing** *TWZ* has reached out to the Australian Defense Department’s representative in Washington, DC, to find out more about the Navy’s relationship with the MQ-28. However, the U.S. Navy is clearly looking at the MQ-28, even if only on a test and evaluation basis. However, based on the versatility of the design and the fact that Boeing has already explored, at some level, what it would take to make it carrier-compatible, the drone could well be of deeper interest to the Navy as it sets about defining its CCA requirements. *Howard Altman, Senior Staff Writer for* TWZ*, contributed to this story.* *Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com* ## Author Thomas Newdick is a staff writer at *TWZ*, where he covers military aviation, defense technology, weapons systems, and international security. Based in Berlin, Germany, he reports on conflicts, military modernization efforts, and emerging aerospace technologies around the world, with a particular interest in airpower and its role in contemporary warfare. His reporting is informed by deep expertise in modern and historical airpower, particularly in Europe, with a focus on military aviation, air campaigns, and aerospace developments across the continent and beyond. Over a journalism career spanning more than 25 years, Thomas has become known for making complex defense and aerospace topics accessible to a broad audience. His reporting combines technical expertise, historical context, and a focus on the real-world operational and strategic implications of military developments. ### Author social links [Twitter]()