Boeing conducted testing for the MQ-28 Ghost Bat’s Radar Cross Section, validating its stealth performance.
Boeing announced on June 1, 2026, that it has conducted Radar Cross Section (RCS) testing on the MQ-28 Ghost Bat Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA). The company says the testing allowed to validate the aircraft’s stealth performance, which adds enhanced survivability to the Ghost Bat.
The press release further added that RCS testing was conducted on an MQ-28 to “provide customers with objective, repeatable data about survivability and detection risks.” RCS is a critical engineering element for low observable or stealth aircraft, as the smaller it gets, the more difficult it is to detect the aircraft.
RCS refers to the amount of radar energy reflected back to a radar receiver from a transmitter. Specifically, it is defined as an imaginary target area that would reflect the same power back to the radar as the actual target, in this case the MQ-28.
In addition to validating designs and models, the company says this testing will support procurement and certification and guide tactics and countermeasure choices. Additionally, Boeing says “this milestone further demonstrates the platform’s maturity, survivability, and ability to deliver cost-effective advanced capability for modern air combat operations.”
“The combination of a highly capable platform, stealth features, advanced autonomy and artificial intelligence provides unprecedented ability for air forces to extend their mission effectiveness and operational flexibility,” says Brad Thompson, Director for Phantom Works Australia.
The RCS testing was announced soon after the disclosure of the MQ-28’s first three flights in the U.S., over the Point Mugu Sea Range. It is unclear when this testing was conducted.
The MQ-28 Ghost Bat – Boeing Airpower Teaming System
Designed by Boeing Defence Australia for the RAAF as a multirole system capable of operating together with crewed aircraft, the Ghost Bat was initially known as the Boeing Airpower Teaming System (ATS). The development started in 2013, with the prototype unveiled for the first time during the 2019 edition of the Australian Airshow and the maiden flight on Feb. 27, 2021, at the Woomera Range Complex in Southern Australia.
The multirole unmanned platform has a 1.5 cubic meter nose that can hold interchangeable payloads for ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance), aerial radar surveillance, EW/ELINT sensors and other attack munitions. The aircraft has been described as a next-generation Loyal Wingman, whose development involved 55 Australian companies and, as of Feb. 2024, had received $600 million in funding.
According to Boeing, the Ghost Bat employs “AI (Artificial Intelligence) to work as a smart team with existing military aircraft to complement and extend airborne missions.” The size of a small, light-weight class fighter, with side air intakes, cranked-kite wings and canted V-tails, the MQ-28 can fly for nearly 3,200 km and “fly independently” with its AI.
Renders from Boeing have shown the Ghost Bat flying with support and special mission aircraft like the E-7A Wedgetail AEW&C aircraft and the F-15EX. According to Ferguson, “during a typical mission, a launch and recovery operator […] would oversee the aircraft as it takes flight.”
“It would then be handed off to a crewed aircraft, such as an E-7A, F-35A or F/A-18F, whose crew tasks it to perform, for example, an intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance mission,” added Ferguson while explaining the concept of operations. The MUM-T (Manned Unmanned Teaming) might not necessarily take place in close formation, but it could work even with the aircraft very far apart over dozens of kilometers, depending on mission requirements.
The heavily stealth-oriented design has also been shown in renderings with three different nose sections, with one integrating an IRST (Infrared Search and Track) sensor. Based on their appearance, the other two could possibly be meant for ISR and EW/ELINT roles, the latter involving locating, jamming or overwhelming adversary ground radars.
The MQ-28 could also serve in an escort role for high-value support assets like the E-7A AEW&C aircraft or KC-30 aerial refuelers. It is however not known if the unmanned aircraft is viewed as an attritable system used for enhancing manned platforms’ survivability. Following the mission’s completion, “the aircraft would be handed back to the launch and recovery operator to oversee landing, deceleration and complete stop of the vehicle,” Ferguson said.
The uncrewed aircraft reached some important milestones in the last year. Among these was the June 2025 test which saw an E-7 Wedgetail controlling two MQ-28s in a mission against a simulated airborne target.
In December 2025, Boeing disclosed the first live-fire test of the MQ-28 with an AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM). On that occasion, the aircraft teamed up with an E-7 Wedgetail and an F/A-18F Super Hornet of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF).
The RAAF described it as “a demonstration of a Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) employing an air-to-air weapon against an aerial target in an operationally relevant scenario.” It is likely the Ghost Bat acted as an off-board weapons release platform, leveraging sensor, detection, control and guidance data from the crewed platforms.
In May 2026, Boeing disclosed that the MQ-28 Ghost Bat is now flying in the U.S., in what has been defined as the first flights abroad. Previously the aircraft flew only in Australia, where the MQ-28 was developed and built by Boeing Australia.
So far, the uncrewed aircraft completed three operational flight tests on the Point Mugu Sea Range at U.S. Naval Base Ventura County, Point Mugu, California. The company did not disclose when these flights were conducted.
However, it was already known that at least one MQ-28 was at NAS Ventura County, as the aircraft was clearly visible in a video released after the U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth to the installation in December 2025. It is possible, however, that two aircraft are currently there as two different aircraft can be seen in the December 2025 and May 2026 videos.
