First RAAF pilot completes Ghost Bat training

The first Royal Australian Air Force pilot has completed training on a MQ-28A Ghost Bat UAS, becoming the first non-Boeing pilot to complete the training and take control of the aircraft.

Wing Commander Phil Parsons, an experienced remote systems RAAF pilot for the past 10 years, completed Boeing’s training on June 13. As a launch and recovery operator, WGCDR Parsons would oversee launch and recovery of the aircraft, which involves ground preparation, take-off and landing operations.

WGCDR Parsons’ training included observing and monitoring the aircraft as it executed commands to climb and descend, accelerate and decelerate, or navigate to a specific waypoint to achieve test points as part of the current advanced testing programme.

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Glen Ferguson, Boeing Defence Australia MQ-28 program director said the concept of operations was for the pilot to control take-off and landing before handing over to another platform.

“During a typical mission, a launch and recovery operator like WGCDR Parsons would oversee the aircraft as it takes flight,” Ferguson said.

“It would then be handed off to a crewed aircraft, such as an E-7A, F-35A or F/A-18F, whose crew tasks it to perform, for example, an intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance mission [before] the UAS pilot [oversaw] landing, deceleration and complete stop of the vehicle.”

Ghost Bat is a development of the Boeing Defence Australia’s Airpower Teaming System (ATS) or the 'Loyal Wingman' which was unveiled in 2019 at the Australian Airshow.

It is considered as a multirole platform and features a 1.5 cubic metre nose that will host the platform's payloads. The nose is designed to snap on/off, allowing each UAV to quickly change between a range of payloads that customer requirements will strictly drive.

Since the platform is designed to complement rather than replace existing capability, it will likely carry ISR sensors, EW systems, radars and kinetic weapons, among other payloads.

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MQ-28A Ghost Bat