Mature platform Boeing and Rheinmetall Accelerate Germany's Path to Collaborative Combat Aircraft Capabilities

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Boeing and Rheinmetall are accelerating Germany’s development of sovereign Collaborative Combat Aircraft capabilities by combining the mature MQ-28 Ghost Bat platform with a German industrial ecosystem.

Leading air forces worldwide are now beginning the practical introduction of Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA), also referred to as fighter-bomber drones for air-to-ground missions. They are thus moving from the concept phase to the concrete establishment of this new military capability. The Bundeswehr also has corresponding plans.

With the MQ-28 Ghost Bat, a mature platform is already available today that enables this rapid capability development. Previous flight tests show that the MQ-28 can meet German requirements for both air-to-ground and air-to-air missions.

The high level of maturity of the MQ-28 enables Germany to immediately establish sovereign capabilities—including the integration of German sensors, weapons and mission software.

Boeing is continuously investing in the further development of the MQ-28, including its air-to-ground capabilities. To ensure the accelerated development of CCA capabilities in Germany, Rheinmetall is contributing as a system integrator.

The high level of maturity that the MQ-28 Ghost Bat already has today is decisive: The MQ-28 Ghost Bat is the first and so far only fighter-bomber drone to have participated in multinational exercises, such as the US military exercise Exercise Valiant Shield. Glen Ferguson, Global Director of the MQ-28 programme at Boeing Defense Australia, says: “While many CCA programmes worldwide are still in the concept, definition or early test phase, the MQ-28A Ghost Bat has already completed these key development steps.”

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At the same time, the MQ-28 Ghost Bat provides the German Air Force with a realistic development and test environment in which to further develop procedures and tactics for cooperation between manned and unmanned aircraft. Glen Ferguson emphasises: “If the goal is to achieve such a capability by 2029, this work must begin today with the development of tactics, training, the definition of force structure and the integration of sovereign technologies.”

Together with Rheinmetall, Rohde & Schwarz, Diehl Defence and Hensoldt, Boeing is currently establishing an industrial ecosystem that will enable Germany in the long term to develop and integrate the required capabilities within the country.

Rheinmetall is taking the first step by establishing independent system integration for the MQ-28 in Germany. Mike Schmidt, CEO of the Air, Uncrewed and Space business unit, says: “Germany does not have to choose between speed and independence. We offer a way to achieve both at the same time. The MQ-28 enables us to bypass the lengthy development phase of a new aircraft and move directly to the decisive task: making the capabilities of unmanned combat aircraft systems available to the German Air Force.”

Establishing independent system integration is also an investment in the German defence industry. Software development, mission integration and intellectual property will remain within the German industrial ecosystem.

This means that national capabilities can be developed, tested and integrated directly on the MQ-28. Future CCA platforms will subsequently benefit from this experience.

With the help of a Digital Twin, the MQ-28 is being continuously further developed, supported by extensive flight test data and findings from the test programme with the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF).

Glen Ferguson says: “The MQ-28 Ghost Bat was designed from the outset as a highly adaptable platform. Experience gathered in service to date shows that the MQ-28’s architecture can be rapidly adapted to new mission requirements, including air-to-ground capabilities. This is not about retrofitting, but about making use of a modular design that was designed from the ground up for continuous adaptation.”