Boeing’s MQ-28 Ghost Bat is growing up. At the ILA Berlin air show on June 10, 2026, the company revealed an enlarged version of the Australian-developed loyal-wingman drone with a wing roughly 25% larger than the original.
The bigger wing lifts maximum takeoff weight from about 10,000 to 12,000 pounds and, crucially, adds an internal weapons bay capable of carrying two AMRAAM air-to-air missiles or four Small Diameter Bombs.
From Australia to the World Stage
The reveal came just days after the Ghost Bat logged its first operations outside Australia, flying three sorties over the U.S. Navy’s Point Mugu Sea Range — months after its first autonomous AIM-120 launch. Boeing is now pitching the drone to allied buyers as the loyal-wingman race goes global, with Royal Australian Air Force service targeted for 2028.
Part of a Bigger Trend
The Ghost Bat is one entry in a fast-growing field of Collaborative Combat Aircraft — uncrewed jets designed to fly alongside manned fighters, carrying sensors and weapons while absorbing risk in contested airspace. The United States is developing its own contenders in the YFQ-42A and YFQ-44A, and the appearance of an armed, longer-ranged Ghost Bat shows how quickly the requirements for these aircraft are escalating from “sensor truck” to genuine shooter.