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MQ-28 CCA shoots down airborne target by means of AIM-120

In a historic achievement, Boeing and the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) have successfully executed a force integrated air-to-air autonomous weapon engagement from an MQ-28 Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA).

The landmark mission involved an MQ-28 Ghost Bat teaming with a RAAF E-7A Wedgetail and F/A-18F Super Hornet to destroy a fighter-class target drone.

“This is the first time an autonomous aircraft has completed an air-to-air weapon engagement with an AIM-120 missile, establishing the MQ-28 as a mature combat capable CCA,” said Amy List, managing director, Boeing Defence Australia, in a company news release.

“This latest achievement proves the advantage specialized CCA platforms bring to defense forces’ mission effectiveness, delivering increased operational mass and data exchange for informed decision-making while reducing cost and crewed pilot risk.”

Mission highlights

Key mission highlights:

• The MQ-28, E-7A and F/A-18F launched from separate locations.
• Once airborne, an E-7A operator took custodianship of the MQ-28 ensuring safety and engagement oversight.
• The F/A-18F teamed with the MQ-28 in combat formation to provide sensor coverage, and once the Super Hornet identified and tracked the target, targeting data was shared across all three platforms.
• The MQ-28 adjusted its position and received authorization from the E-7A to engage and successfully destroy the target using a Raytheon AIM-120 AMRAAM missile.

“This exercise demonstrates the maturity and sophistication of Boeing’s mission autonomy solution which is built on open standards and government architectures and is capable of integrating with fourth, fifth and sixth generation aircraft,” said Colin Miller, vice president and general manager for Phantom Works, Boeing Defense, Space & Security’s advanced research, development and rapid prototyping division.

“It is a true example of speed-to-capability. The team implemented open architectures and an advanced digital ecosystem to develop the necessary hardware, software, and mission systems required to successfully integrate, test and employ the weapon in a live, operationally relevant scenario in under eight months.”

The exercise was a collaborative effort between Boeing, the RAAF, U.S. Air Force and industry partners.

The Ghost Bat

CD25 will demonstrate MQ-28 operational effectiveness and how collaborative combat aircraft will integrate and operate with RAAF crewed assets.

Designed and developed by Boeing in Australia, the MQ-28 Ghost Bat aims to provide a transformational capability for global defense customers. This purpose-built aircraft is a force multiplier for global allied militaries and can be missionized to suit country-specific needs.

The Boeing MQ-28 is a collaborative combat aircraft (CCA) which uses smart human-machine technology to be that force multiplier.

The MQ-28 delivers affordable combat mass to complement and enhance crewed and uncrewed air domain missions.

• Fighter-like performance – measuring 38 feet long (11.7m) and able to fly more than 2,000 nautical miles to support crewed and uncrewed assets.
• Extend the mission – fuses sensor and payload information from multiple aircraft to complement and extend intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, tactical early warning missions and more.
• Rapid capability insertion – based on open-source architecture, MQ-28 provides mission flexibility and allows rapid reconfiguration and customisation of onboard systems, enabling allied forces to exploit rapid innovation cycles and be responsive to changing threat environments.
• Affordable, intelligent combat mass – enhances the operational effectiveness of existing platforms.

Photo credit: Boeing