Overview
- Boeing revealed the Block 3 configuration at the ILA Berlin Air Show on June 10, which includes a more than 25% larger wing, an increased maximum takeoff weight to 12,000 lb, and roughly 2,000 lb of added fuel, stores or payload capacity.
- The upgrade adds two internal weapon stations that can carry two AMRAAMs or four small-diameter bombs plus provision for three external stations, giving operators new trade-offs between endurance and firepower.
- Block 3 also introduces beyond-line-of-sight communications and an open software architecture to allow control from crewed aircraft, ships or ground stations and to support third-party payloads.
- Boeing used recent test milestones to support the pitch, citing completed radar cross-section testing, more than 200 flight hours and a December 2025 force-integrated autonomous air-to-air engagement, while offering the aircraft to Germany via a Rheinmetall-led industrial team expanded to include Diehl and Rohde & Schwarz.
- Key technical and procurement gaps remain: public sources do not disclose RCS measurements, which specific airframes or software blocks flew in U.S. sorties, propulsion changes, or any final government purchase, and the MQ-28 will face a crowded field and export and sovereign-integration hurdles if Germany pursues deliveries by 2029.