Australian-Designed Drones Get $500 Million Boost
The Australian government has approved a third tranche of the locally-designed and -built MQ-28 Ghost Bat Collaborative Combat Aircraft from Boeing, in a deal worth AUS $754 million (US$500.6 million). The new order will see Boeing deliver seven additional drones, including the first Block 3 aircraft, over the next three years. The MQ-28 has also successfully engaged and shot down an aerial target, demonstrating its air-to-air capability. According to Breaking Defense, the development of this capability took just over eight months, and the drone was flown semi-autonomously during the test.