According to both companies, the MQ-28 Ghost Bat, which has been systematically developed under an Australian initiative, would allow Germany to launch a CCA program immediately. Flight testing conducted to date has confirmed that the system meets German requirements for both air-to-air and air-to-surface missions. Designed by Boeing, the Ghost Bat is the first unmanned combat aircraft of its kind to have participated in major multinational exercises such as the US-led Valiant Shield. Glen Ferguson, global director of the MQ-28 program at Boeing Defense Australia, emphasized that while other CCA programs around the world remain at the conceptual stage, the MQ-28 has already passed key development and testing milestones.
Under the initiative, Rheinmetall is to serve as the lead system integrator in Germany. The company is beginning to establish a domestic MQ-28 integration capability intended to ensure that sensors, weapons, mission software, and intellectual property remain within the German industrial ecosystem. Representatives of the German industrial group stress that Germany does not have to choose between speed and sovereignty: the MQ-28 makes it possible to bypass the years-long process of designing a new aircraft and instead focus on the immediate introduction of operational capability.
Photo: USAF
The cooperation between Rheinmetall and Boeing also includes the creation of a broader industrial ecosystem involving Rohde & Schwarz, Diehl Defence, and HENSOLDT. This is intended to provide Germany with a sustainable domestic capability to develop and integrate CCA technologies.
The MQ-28 will be further developed using a digital twin concept, flight-test data, and experience gained from the Royal Australian Air Force program. The platform’s modular architecture allows it to be rapidly adapted to new missions and operational requirements. Boeing and Rheinmetall emphasize that, in order to achieve CCA operational readiness by 2029, work on concepts of operation and employment procedures must begin immediately. The MQ-28 is intended to provide a platform capable of operating effectively alongside crewed aircraft.