Boeing delivers the MQ-28 Ghost Bat drone to the US for the first time, which, perhaps, will operate in conjunction with the F-35 Lightning II fifth-generation fighter

Boeing has delivered the MQ-28 Ghost Bat unmanned aerial vehicle to the US for the first time. In the photo above, it stands to the left of the Boeing MQ-25 Stingray unmanned refuelling vehicle, which was developed at the request of the US Navy.

Here's What We Know

The MQ-28 Ghost Bat is the first drone developed by Boeing Australia. Last year, the US Department of Defence officially announced that it had acquired "at least one" drone.

The Ghost Bat is designed for the Royal Australian Air Force. However, last year the Pentagon announced a desire to test the drone in the US. Boeing has deployed the MQ-28 at the Phantom Works facility, which is adjacent to Scott Air Force Base near St Louis, Missouri.

Krystle Carr, Boeing's director of shared unmanned platforms said that the new drone will be used for testing. However, she did not go into detail or say what tests the MQ-28 would have to undergo.

The US Air Force is interested in how effectively the Ghost Bat can be used in a combat environment. The service wants 1,000 slave drones to work with fifth- and sixth-generation fighters. Such drones should divert enemy air defences, strike, gather intelligence and be inexpensive.

A few months ago, Lockheed Martin vice president Greg Ulmer said during the Australia International Airshow 2023 that the company will discuss the possibility of combining the F-35 Lightning II with the MQ-28 Ghost Bat drone. Boeing chief executive Ted Colbert called the partnership between the two defence companies "great news".

Source: @BoeingDefense