在实弹演示后，澳大利亚人又购买了七架 MQ-28 Ghost Bat CCA

MELBOURNE —Canberra has green-lit a third tranche of the Australian-designed and -built MQ-28 Ghost Bat Collaborative Combat Aircraft from Boeing, an AUS $754 million (US$500.6 million) deal that will include several modifications to the design, including an internal weapons bay.

The new tranche will see Boeing deliver seven additional drones — six in the Block 2 configuration and the first Block 3 aircraft — o ver the next three years, to support the development of an operational capability by 2028 as well as supporting infrastructure under Australia’s AIR6015 Autonomous Collaborative Platforms – Air program.

Australia has previously ordered eight Block 1 and three Block 2 Ghost Bats, meaning when delivery of this tranche is complete, the Lucky Country will have 18 total MQ-28s.

Pat Conroy, the country’s Minister for Defence Industry, called the MQ-28 a world leading platform and the future of air warfare during a media conference announcing the contract.

“未来就在这里，未来就在澳大利亚，澳大利亚制造了像幽灵蝙蝠这样世界领先的能力，”他说。

Conroy also revealed during the contract announcement that the MQ-28 had engaged and shot down an aerial target at the Woomera range complex in southern Australia, an important milestone to show the drone’s capability.

Speaking during a separate media briefing detailing the engagement, Boeing’s MQ-28 Global Program Director Glen Ferguson said that the air-to-air engagement saw the MQ-28 working together with a Boeing E-7 Wedgetail Airborne Early Warning and Control Aircraft and F/A-18F Super Hornet multirole fighter of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) to engage the aerial target with an AIM-120 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air missile.

He added that the development of the air-to-air capability for the MQ-28 took just over eight months, starting with a decision at the Avalon Airshow in March to the missile firing

悉尼的 Colin Clark 对本报告做出了贡献。