Australia’s air force aims its UAV fleet northwards
Boeing Defence Australia is responsible for developing the MQ-28A Ghost Bat unmanned aircraft. (Photo: Gordon Arthur)
The Royal Australian Air Force is advancing its unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) capabilities across three key programmes as it works with the likes of Boeing and Northrop Grumman to reshape Australia’s defence strategy.
The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is concentrating on three major UAV programmes – one for maritime ISR, another for combat and the third for experimentation – as it attempts to exploit unmanned technology and apply lessons learned from Ukraine.
Air Commodore Ross Bender, director-general of air combat capability at the RAAF, outlined the service’s efforts in a presentation at the Australian Association for Uncrewed Systems Conference in Melbourne in September.
He began by noting that last year’s Defence Strategic Review emphasised the need to monitor and defend Australia’s northern approaches, and UAVs have an important role in this.
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