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UAV / drone

Australia In development

Boeing

MQ-28 Ghost Bat

A stealthy, autonomous 'loyal wingman' uncrewed combat aircraft developed by Boeing Australia to fly alongside crewed fighters, extending their sensor reach and carrying modular mission payloads. It is Australia's first indigenously designed combat aircraft in decades.

In service since 2021 · 1 operator countries

Compiled from public sources ·primary reference ↗ ·last verified 2026-07-05

1,080

km/h

3,700

km range

Procurement snapshot

Availability & export

National export licensing

Subject to Australia export-control approval; verify eligibility with the manufacturer.

Channel: Direct commercial / G2G

Fielded & proven

Limited · 1 operator

In service since 2021. Status: announced.

Lifecycle cost (est.)

No public unit price to model from.

Interoperability

No standardised NATO calibre / datalink detected in public specs.

Derived guidance from public data, export regime by country of origin, lifecycle from the GAO ~30% acquisition rule. Verify eligibility, pricing and offsets with the manufacturer and your acquisition authority.

Full specifications

Performance

Speed, range, altitude and engagement capability.

Max speed Maximum level speed. For aircraft this is at optimal altitude; for ground vehicles, top road speed. Higher means faster response and better kinematic performance.: 1,080 km/h

Top 3% of UAVs
Range Maximum distance: ferry range for aircraft, operational range for vehicles, maximum engagement distance for missiles. Higher means more standoff or persistence.: 3,700 km

Stronger than 82% of UAVs

Firepower

Armament, payload and guidance.

Main armament Primary weapon: main gun, cannon or missile type.: Modular mission payload; (Block 3) internal carriage of AIM-120 AMRAAM or GBU-39 SDB
Hardpoints External stations for weapons and pods. More means bigger and more flexible loadouts.: 3

Stronger than 26% of UAVs

Physical

Dimensions, weight and crew.

Length Overall length including gun/probe where applicable.: 11.7 m
Wingspan Wingtip-to-wingtip span.: 7.3 m
Combat weight Fully loaded weight. Lighter eases transport and bridging limits; heavier often means more armor.: 5,443 kg
Crew Personnel required to operate. Fewer reduces exposure; autoloaders trade a loader for mechanical complexity.: 0

Propulsion

Engine, power and fuel.

Engine Powerplant model and type.: 1x Williams FJ44 turbofan
Engines Number of engines. Twin-engine gives redundancy at higher cost.: 1
Propulsion type Turbofan, turboshaft, diesel, gas turbine, solid-fuel rocket, ramjet…: Turbofan

Program

Cost, production scale and operators.

Operator countries Number of countries operating the system. More operators means broader support ecosystem.: 1

Stronger than 16% of UAVs

Specifications compiled from public Boeing and reference sources ↗. Published defense figures are approximations, treat comparisons as directional. Last verified 2026-07-05.

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