On Saturday, Defence Australia announced that the MQ‑28A Ghost Bat conducted its first flight outside the Woomera Training Area during Exercise Carlsbad.
The milestone marks a crucial development in the country’s modern air combat capabilities.
According to Defence Australia, the Ghost Bat is “the first military aircraft designed and built in Australia in more than 50 years.”
The unmanned combat aerial vehicle, developed under Project Air 7003, represents Canberra’s drive to gain an indigenous edge in airpower.
“The Flight of the Ghost Bat!” the announcement said, describing the achievement in emphatic terms. The mission, conducted during Exercise Carlsbad, took place at a remote airfield, demonstrating the aircraft’s ability to operate beyond its traditional testing grounds.
Constructed with stealth features and designed to operate as a loyal wingman alongside crewed platforms, the MQ‑28A underscores a shift in Australian air doctrine. The aircraft supports sorties flown by Royal Australian Air Force assets such as F‑35As and future Next Generation Air Combat platforms.
Australia’s development of a domestically built military aircraft contrasts sharply with decades of dependence on foreign suppliers. While earlier generations of Australian aviation capability focused on transport, training, and surveillance aircraft—in many cases procured from overseas—the MQ‑28A is the first fighter-class design to emerge from its defence industry since the 1970s.
Observers say Project Air 7003 may pave the way for future aircraft development in Australia, including collaborative work with allied nations. The flight outside Woomera suggests growing confidence in the Ghost Bat’s systems, including its autonomous flight controls, sensor fusion, and weapon release capability.
The MQ‑28A is intended to fill the role of a loyal wingman—a drone flown alongside pilot-operated aircraft, extending sensor coverage and offering additional lethality without risking human life. The first flights were previously limited to the Woomera Test Range in South Australia. The latest sortie under Exercise Carlsbad took place at an unnamed airstrip, where the Ghost Bat demonstrated takeoff, autonomous flight, and return-to-base procedures.
With this flight, Australia enters a new era of aerospace autonomy. The MQ‑28A Ghost Bat, once a concept, now flies operationally beyond its birthplace at Woomera. For Canberra, the mission marks a watershed in sovereign airpower—and a signal to strategic partners that Australia can build combat drones on its own soil.
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