Boeing and the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) have carried out the first live air-to-air missile firing by an MQ-28 Ghost Bat collaborative combat aircraft.
The test, announced by Boeing on December 9, 2025, saw the MQ-28 destroy a fighter-sized aerial target using a Raytheon AIM-120 AMRAAM missile during an operationally representative mission.
According to Boeing, the MQ-28 operated as part of a networked force, flying alongside an RAAF E-7A Wedgetail airborne early warning and control aircraft and an F/A-18F Super Hornet fighter. Sensor and targeting data were shared across platforms before the Ghost Bat executed the engagement.
Missile integration completed in under eight months
Boeing said weapon integration and testing were completed in less than eight months, enabled by the aircraft’s open-architecture design and modular mission systems.
Designed to operate alongside crewed aircraft, the MQ-28 is intended to add sensing, connectivity, and combat mass while reducing exposure for human pilots. Boeing has previously stated that the aircraft has a range exceeding 3,700 kilometers (2,300 miles) and features a swappable nose section for different mission payloads.
Live-fire follows reported acquisition plans
The missile firing occurred just a day after local media reported Australia’s plans to acquire the first operational batch of MQ-28 aircraft, with a reported order for six air vehicles. While these procurement decisions and the live-fire test signal a shift from prolonged experimentation to operational capability development, it’s important to note that these plans were never officially confirmed.
The MQ-28 milestone also follows other recent advances in unmanned air combat. In late November 2025, Turkey’s Bayraktar Kizilelma conducted a live beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile test against a jet-powered target.
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