Boeing has confirmed that the MQ-28 Ghost Bat has performed three flights in the Point Mugu Sea Range after initially only flying in Australia.
Boeing announced on May 27, 2026 that the MQ-28 Ghost Bat is now flying in the United States. This marked its first overseas flight after previously flying only in Australia, where Boeing Australia developed and built the MQ-28. To date, the drone has completed three operational flight tests in the Point Mugu Sea Range off U.S. Naval Station Ventura County at Point Mugu, California.
The goal of the test flight was to validate autonomous operations and demonstrate rapid deployment and sustained operations in coalition locations. The company also said that these first operations outside of Australia signify “growing global interest in unmanned autonomous combat capabilities” as well as “demonstrating the maturity of the aircraft and potential export opportunities”.
The MQ-28 has gone international! 🌏✈️
The three flights from Point Mugu demonstrated rapid joint deployment, autonomous operations and payload integration, paving the way toward exportable unmanned capabilities. pic.twitter.com/TpvvLtfnZ0
— Boeing Defense (@BoeingDefense) May 27, 2026
“The activities at Point Mugu are part of Boeing’s ongoing flight test program to complete the MQ-28 and demonstrate operations in our allies,” said Glen Ferguson, MQ-28 global program director. “MQ-28 is using this position to further demonstrate the maturity of the program and signal future export potential.”
The company did not disclose when these flights were conducted. However, it was already known that there was at least one MQ-28 at NAS Ventura County, from a video released by U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth in December 2025 after the installation was completed.
.@SECWAR told warriors at Naval Air Station Point Magu:
He reminded them that we are on their side! pic.twitter.com/SzlklDHbfX
— DOW Rapid Response (@DOWResponse) December 6, 2025
However, it is possible that two aircraft are currently there. In fact, a video from December showed one of the early MQ-28 airframes, recognizable by its orange-striped livery.
Meanwhile, the aircraft seen in NAS Ventura County’s flight operations video appears to be one of the newer MQ-28s, painted all gray. The ATS-008 aircraft features an Infrared Search and Track (IRST) sensor on the nose and Boeing’s Phantom Works logo on the tail.
Prior to the test flights in the United States, U.S. Navy test pilots were deployed to Australia to work on the aircraft as part of an agreement with Australia. It is unclear whether U.S. Navy pilots also participated in the flyover over the Point Mugu Sea Range.
MQ-28 Ghost Bat – Boeing Air Power Teaming System
Designed by Boeing Defense Australia for the RAAF as a multi-role system capable of operating with crewed aircraft, the Ghost Bat was initially known as the Boeing Airpower Teaming System (ATS). Development began in 2013, and the prototype was first unveiled at the 2019 Australian Airshow, with its maiden flight taking place at the Woomera Range Complex in southern Australia on February 27, 2021.
The multipurpose unmanned platform has a 1.5 cubic meter nose that can accommodate interchangeable payloads for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), airborne radar surveillance, EW/ELINT sensors and other attack munitions. The aircraft has been described as the next-generation Loyal Wingman, with 55 Australian companies involved in its development and, as of February 2024, receiving $600 million in funding.
According to Boeing, the Ghost Bat “utilizes artificial intelligence (AI) to collaborate as a smart team with existing military aircraft to complement and expand its airborne mission.” The size of a compact, lightweight fighter jet with side air intakes, cranked kite wings and a slanted V-shaped tail, the MQ-28 can fly nearly 2,000 miles (3,200 km) and can “fly independently” through AI.
Boeing’s renderings showed the Ghost Bat flying with support and special mission aircraft such as the E-7A Wedgetail AEW&C aircraft and the F-15EX. According to Ferguson, “During a typical mission, launch and recovery operators (…) supervise the aircraft while it is in flight.”
Explaining the operational concept, Ferguson added, “It is then handed over to a crewed aircraft, such as an E-7A, F-35A, or F/A-18F, where the crew performs intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions.” Manned-unmanned teaming (MUM-T) does not necessarily have to be conducted in close formation, but can operate even when the aircraft are tens of kilometers or more apart, depending on mission requirements.
The stealth-oriented design has also been seen in the renders, which feature three nose sections with integrated Infrared Search and Track (IRST) sensors. Depending on their appearance, the other two could imply ISR and EW/ELINT roles, the latter being concerned with locating, jamming or overwhelming enemy ground radars.
The MQ-28 can also serve as an escort for high-value support assets such as E-7A AEW&C aircraft or KC-30 tankers. However, it is not known whether unmanned aerial vehicles are considered vulnerable systems used to improve the survivability of manned platforms. After the mission is complete, “the aircraft will be returned to the launch and recovery operator to oversee the landing, deceleration and complete stopping of the vehicle,” Ferguson said.
Unmanned aerial vehicles have reached several important milestones in the past year. Among them was a June 2025 test that saw an E-7 Wedgetail control two MQ-28s on a mission against simulated aerial targets.
In December 2025, Boeing unveiled the first live-fire test of the MQ-28 equipped with the AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM). At the time, the aircraft teamed with the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF)’s E-7 Wedgetail and F/A-18F Super Hornet.
The RAAF described it as “a demonstration of Cooperative Combat Aircraft (CCA) using air-to-air weapons against aerial targets in an operationally relevant scenario.” The Ghost Bat likely served as an offboard weapons release platform, leveraging sensors, detection, control and guidance data from the crewed platform.
future development
In February 2024, the Australian government announced $259.5 million in funding to further develop the core systems of the Boeing MQ-28A and build three new aircraft in Block 2 configuration. Block 2 will have an improved design and enhanced capabilities with funding to support additional critical sensors and mission payloads.
Boeing is currently producing the Block 2 variant at its Melbourne facility, which was initially expected to fly by the end of 2025. Block 2 has no major changes to the airframe and has actually been described as an operational variant of Block 1.
Block 2 has no major airframe changes from Block 1, with the main external change being the removal of Block 1’s canine wings, and internal changes to the aircraft to improve maintainability. Block 2 also features a new Global Positioning System (GPS)/Inertial Navigation System (INS).
A total of eight Block 1 aircraft are scheduled to be retired when Block 2 is ready. Australian Defense Industry Minister Pat Conroy said one of the program’s goals after a pilot phase in 2025 would be the ability to produce the MQ-28A at 10 per cent of the cost of an aircraft like the F-35A.
At the same time, Boeing is already developing the Block 3, which is scheduled for launch on the international market and is scheduled to be produced starting in 2028. The company plans to field Block 2 in the same year.
According to aviation weekIn Block 3, you can see the wings extended by 3m on each side. This will result in a 30% increase in fuel, allowing for a “quite significant increase in range.”
Block 3 also includes an internal weapons bay sized for AIM-120 AMRAAM or GBU-39 and GBU-53 small diameter bombs. The weapons bay could also be retrofitted to Block 2 if required by the RAAF.
Similar to the Block 1 and 2 airframes, Block 3 is powered by Williams International FJ44-A engines. aviation week. Notably, the FJ44 is also used by another CCA, the Anduril YFQ-44.
