‘Very significant’: Ghost Bat will allow military to ‘undertake more dangerous missions’

ASPI Senior Analyst Malcolm Davis says the expected announcement of the MQ-28A Ghost Bat is “very significant” because it will allow the Australian military to “undertake more dangerous missions”. Labor is expected to announce an investment into the unmanned combat aircraft, which would see the launch of more advanced surveillance and communication functions. They are the first military aircraft to be designed, developed and manufactured in Australia in more than half a century. “It’s known as a cooperative combat aircraft,” Mr Davis told Sky News Australia. “In other words, it’s an unmanned aircraft … it’s designed to work with aircraft such as the F-35, the Super Hornet and the P-8 Poseidon to basically support those crewed aircraft, undertake more dangerous missions ahead of the formation. “You have what’s known as crewed autonomous teaming … where crewed and autonomous platforms work together as a team, and the Ghost Bat provides that sort of fast long-range strike and surveillance capability that will be part of that process. “This is very significant because if you look at where combat aircraft are going, increasingly it’s this crewed autonomous teaming approach.”