The American aerospace giant Boeing, at the MSPO 2025 exhibition held in Poland from September 2 to 5, as part of the Team Eagle project (together with General Electric, BAE Systems, and Raytheon, last year they showcased the F-15EX fighter), decided to present to Poland the so-called loyal wingman drone MQ-28 Ghost Bat, developed under the Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) program.
Although CCA primarily envisions the creation of drones or unmanned fighters designed to operate alongside fifth-generation aircraft, it seems Boeing has decided that the option of presenting the MQ-28 Ghost Bat paired with the F-15EX could be appealing to Poland, positioning this as another advantage of the fighter compared to its competitors. Among those competitors is the F-35 by Lockheed Martin.
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Boeing emphasizes that the MQ-28 has already conducted hundreds of test flights, with air-to-air weapon trials scheduled for next year, and joint operations with fighters in the sky planned for the following year, according to Janes.
It was recently reported that Boeing, together with the Royal Australian Air Force, completed another round of testing — four months ahead of schedule — during which the drone logged over 150 flight hours.
For comparison, while the MQ-28 has already accumulated significant flight hours, another CCA project by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI), the loyal wingman YFQ-42A, only conducted its first flight this summer. Reports indicate that GA-ASI managed to progress from design to the first prototype flight in just over a year.
Returning to Poland, it is worth noting that Boeing, in addition to the MQ-28, is offering an interesting proposal for the F-15EX with partial localization of production, while Pratt & Whitney has also offered the option of engine choice.
Finally, it should be noted that Warsaw had earlier announced a temporary suspension of all processes related to the procurement of additional fighters for its armed forces. This was explained as the need to approve a new defense plan, though it is also likely that Poland may lack the funds.
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