Overview
- A partnership announced Tuesday between Rheinmetall and Boeing Australia proposes the MQ-28 Ghost Bat for the Bundeswehr with a target in-service date of 2029.
- Rheinmetall would act as Germany’s system manager, handling integration with Luftwaffe command and weapons systems and building an in-country digital engineering and sustainment hub with revenue potential in the hundreds of millions of euros.
- Germany has not decided yet, with Defense Minister Boris Pistorius saying Friday the purchase is under consideration after inspecting the aircraft in Australia.
- The Ghost Bat faces active competition, including an Airbus–Kratos XQ-58A Valkyrie effort now preparing two aircraft at Manching for flights with a European mission system later this year.
- Boeing cites growing maturity of the MQ-28 after a December 8, 2025 live AIM-120 missile firing and new Australian funding of about A$1.4 billion for six Block 2 aircraft and a Block 3 prototype that adds internal weapons bays and a larger wingspan.