Meet ‘Ghost Bat,’ Boeing’s new fighter-like drone

The drone is the first native Australian combat aircraft in 50 years. Boeing Australia has named its new fighter-like drone “Ghost Bat.”

The drone is named after a species of ghostly white, carnivorous bats.

Weirdly enough, the combat drone actually does have some things in common with the real ghost bat.
Boeing’s Australian subsidiary named its new uncrewed combat aerial vehicle on Monday, officially dubbing it the MQ-28A “Ghost Bat.” It named the drone after a creepy species of predatory bat found only in Australia. The Ghost Bat drone shares several things in common with its mammalian namesake, including the use of sensors to locate prey, and a cooperative hunting style that will see it team up with manned aircraft to take on threats both in the air and on the ground.

“Selecting the ghost bat, an Australian native mammal known for teaming together in a pack to detect and hunt, reflects the unique characteristics of the aircraft’s sensors and Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance abilities, and is a fitting name for this pioneering capability,” Glen Ferguson, director of Boeing’s Australia and International Air Power Teaming System Program, says in a prepared statement.

Ghost Bat’s military designation is MQ-28A. In U.S. military parlance, “M” traditionally stands for “multi-mission,” while “Q” stands for “drone.” Hence, “multi-mission drone.” The -28A designation follows the U.S. Navy’s MQ-25A Stingray aerial refueling and surveillance drone.

It’s not clear who assigned MQ-28A to the Ghost Bat, as the drone is Australian in origin and such designations are typically reserved for American aircraft. Then again, Boeing Australia is at its heart an American company. Still, it’s not clear if there are drones with -26 and -27 designations, or if Boeing Australia skipped over them.

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The Australian ghost bat is a small, predatory bat that feeds on small birds, rodents, insects, spiders, lizards, and other small animals. The animal gets its name from its ghostly white appearance. The animal’s color, its preference for hunting at night, and its large, sharp teeth have led to its reputation as a “false vampire bat,” as it is not technically part of the vampire bat family.

The ghost bat is a nocturnal hunter that uses a combination of keen eyesight and echolocation to hunt and catch prey, wrapping its winglike arms around it, and in the case of budgies (a type of small parrot), eating it head-first. On the other hand, ghost bats are thought to be family oriented, with males wrapping their wings around females and offspring … so there’s that.

Boeing Australia says the ghost bat’s natural sensors and cooperative hunting ability is similar to the Ghost Bat drone’s method of operation. Ghost Bat was originally envisioned as a “loyal wingman,” a fighting drone that can fly alongside a fighter jet, acting as an uncrewed fighter, jammer, or decoy. The drone could also escort high-value targets like tankers and aerial command-and-control aircraft, intercepting threats and allowing the larger, more important, crewed plane to make an escape.

Ghost Bat was developed for the Royal Australian Air Force, with Boeing Australia working toward an operational capability in the near future. This means Ghost Bat will fly alongside Australia’s Super Hornets, Joint Strike Fighters, and Wedgetail airborne early warning and control aircraft. The drone is the first native Australian combat aircraft in 50 years.

Could we see Ghost Bat in America? Boeing’s use of the MQ-28A designation suggests it will try to find a home somewhere in the Pentagon among the Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps.

Source: Popular Mechanics