US Air Force to start new experiments with Boeing's MQ-28 Ghost Bat drone - Breaking Defense

An MQ-28 Ghost Bat drone flies in tests for the Royal Australian Air Force. WASHINGTON -- The US Air Force is set to begin flight experiments with Boeing's MQ-28 Ghost Bat, a combat drone developed for the Australian air force that may help its American counterpart learn how to operate unmanned aircraft alongside fighter jets. Lt. Gen. Clint Hinote, who leads Air Force Futures, told Breaking Defense in a September 20 interview that the service is "getting ready to take delivery" of a drone prototype through the Pentagon's research and engineering office, also known as OSD (R&E). "It might look a lot like an Australian thing," he joked, referring to the Ghost Bat, which first flew in 2021 at Royal Australian Air Force Base Woomera. Pentagon spokesman Lt. Cdr. Tim Gorman confirmed that the research and engineering office is involved in development and experimentation efforts involving Ghost Bat, saying that "OSD (R&E) continually works with the services to validate technologies that are key to advancing and fielding next generation capabilities."