Boeing’s MQ-28 Ghost Bat makes first appearance in multinational Valiant Shield exercise in the Indo-Pacific

Boeing said its MQ-28 Ghost Bat completed training participation with U.S. Air Force forces and coalition aircraft during Exercise Valiant Shield 2026 in the Indo-Pacific, the first time the company’s collaborative combat aircraft has been deployed to a multinational, joint operational exercise.

In a July 2 statement, Boeing described the MQ-28’s role at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, during the June exercise window. Boeing said the Ghost Bat joined a large mix of U.S. and allied platforms, including F-35A and F-35B fighters, F-15EX aircraft, E-2D and E-3 aircraft, EA-18G Growlers, HC-130 tankers, and a range of intelligence and reconnaissance assets, while coalition forces conducted joint training across the Western Pacific.

Boeing said the exercise supports the U.S. Air Force Experimental Operations Unit’s collaborative combat aircraft integration objectives. Collaborative combat aircraft, or CCAs, are uncrewed systems intended to work in teaming arrangements with crewed aircraft, sharing sensing and mission execution so operators can extend reach and awareness without adding risk to pilots.

During Valiant Shield 2026, Boeing said the MQ-28 integrated with forces supporting tactical development for the Marianas Island Range Complex in the Western Pacific. Boeing framed the training as an interoperability and interchangeability test, focusing on how the MQ-28 can deploy and operate in a joint force environment alongside crewed platforms while teams refine tactics, techniques, and procedures.

Steve Parker, president and CEO of Boeing Defense, Space & Security, said the exercise was a first for MQ-28 participation in a major training event and that it is meant to demonstrate “how advanced human-machine teaming extends the reach and awareness of crewed platforms and enhances joint force operations.” Boeing added that the goal is to help the U.S. military and partner forces test the aircraft firsthand and assess the value of CCAs in the broader force mix.

Boeing also tied the exercise to its systems engineering approach for MQ-28. The company said the Ghost Bat is built using open mission systems and government reference architectures intended to let defense customers integrate sovereign payloads for their own mission requirements. Boeing said the concept is for the MQ-28 to team with 4th, 5th, and 6th-generation aircraft to strengthen the capabilities of the wider fleet, rather than replacing crewed aircraft.

Amy List, Boeing’s vice president and managing director for Boeing Defence Australia, said the aircraft represents the “most proven, mature” CCA option among allied nations and pointed to Valiant Shield as evidence of readiness for broader global participation. In additional context from U.S. Air Force-related coverage, the MQ-28 was described as a production representative test aircraft integrating with U.S. and allied forces at the same Valiant Shield event in the region around the Northern Mariana Islands and nearby locations.

Still, Boeing’s statement did not provide details on mission outcomes, performance metrics, or what specific payload configurations were used during the exercise. The company also did not disclose timelines for operational deployment or contract milestones tied directly to Valiant Shield, limiting what can be inferred beyond participation and integration testing.

What to watch next is whether Boeing and U.S. officials move from exercise integration to follow-on testing, including expanded coalition participation and more formal assessments of CCA teaming in contested-like scenarios. As CCAs are still in the process of being operationally absorbed into air and joint force planning, the pace and scale of additional training events will be an early indicator of how quickly the MQ-28’s role could broaden in multinational operations.