Ghost Bat conducts MUM-T flight with F-15EX

A Boeing F-15EX Eagle II of the USAF's 85th Test and Evaluation Squadron operates alongside a Boeing MQ-28A Ghost Bat during Exercise ‘Valiant Shield 2026' over the Philippine Sea. (US PACAF)

The Boeing MQ-28A Ghost Bat collaborative combat aircraft (CCA) has conducted a manned-unmanned teaming (MUM-T) flight with a Boeing F-15EX Eagle II during the international exercise ‘Valiant Shield 2026' (VS26) near Guam, according to US Pacific Air Forces (PACAF).

PACAF released photographs on 2 July showing a US Air Force (USAF) F-15EX from the 85th Test and Evaluation Squadron operating alongside a Ghost Bat prototype over the Philippine Sea. The flight demonstrated “the future of human-machine teaming in the theatre”, PACAF said.

While PACAF did not specify the activities conducted by the two platforms, the service said on 24 June that Ghost Bat's involvement in VS26 provided an “opportunity for the joint force to refine tactics, techniques, and procedures for this next evolution of airpower”.

According to the service, the US Department of the Air Force (DAF) and allied partners aimed to assess the Ghost Bat's “contribution as a force multiplier that extends the reach, awareness, and survivability of crewed platforms in contested environments”.

The MQ-28A CCA was scheduled to perform a variety of missions during the exercise, including defensive and offensive counter-air missions, the service added.

Boeing said in 2020 that the F-15EX's avionics and open mission systems (OMS) architecture made it suitable for operations alongside unmanned platforms. The aircraft's core systems include the Advanced Display Core Processor II (ADCP II), which Boeing has described as one of the fastest mission computers available. The Eagle II's software architecture also supports communications with and control of CCAs, the company has said.