Boeing's new AI warplane, the MQ-28 Ghost Bat, makes Farnborough Airshow debut

Collaborative combat aircraft (CCA) have emerged as one of the key themes of the 2026 Farnborough International Airshow.

On display this week was the Boeing MQ-28 Ghost Bat, designed to act as a force multiplier, working alongside crewed aircraft.

At roughly 11 metres long, it is a high-performance loyal wingman drone that has been designed to fly in formation with crewed fighters like the F-35s.

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They can share data in real-time and take on high-risk missions too dangerous for human pilots.

Ghost Bats are also capable of performing autonomous, independent missions using artificial intelligence.

More than 35 Australian companies have contributed to the programme – the first military combat aircraft to be designed, engineered and built in Australia in more than 50 years.

The entire nose section can be removed and quickly swapped for another with a different payload for various missions from combat to electronic warfare.

It is one of a number of similar projects around the world aimed at integrating crewed and uncrewed fighters, to create smart human machine teams.