Royal Australian Air Force officer Wing Commander Phil Parsons reviews information associated with the launch and recovery operations of the Boeing MQ-28A Ghost Bat. (Boeing Australia)
The recent training of a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) pilot on the Boeing MQ-28A Ghost Bat is part of the Australian government's efforts to understand the potential of the Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA), according to the Australian Department of Defence (DoD).
On 21 August Boeing Australia announced that RAAF Wing Commander Phil Parsons had completed the company's training on 13 June to “become the first non-Boeing pilot on the programme”.
A DoD spokesperson told Janes on 28 August that the training is part of the department's partnership with Boeing, in which “defence continues to develop and assess the MQ-28A Ghost Bat to understand its potential as a platform, as well as the role Collaborative Combat Aircraft more broadly could play in the future force”.
Boeing Australia added in a release that the MQ-28A co-development programme with the RAAF is accelerating. “The focus [is] shifting from testing the aircraft's flying and handling qualities to capability advancement, including progressing teaming behaviours, mission systems, sensors, and payload testing,” the company said.
Training of additional RAAF pilots on the MQ-28A is expected to transpire. According to the DoD spokesperson, a “combined experimental operations workforce is being established to support the collaborative test and evaluation activities undertaken through the CCA Development Project Arrangement with the United States.”
“This will include personnel from the [RAAF], United States Navy, and United States Air Force,” the spokesperson added.
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