Story perspectives

Boeing Adds Diehl, Rohde & Schwarz to MQ-28 Team

6/11/2026

Summary

Boeing Expands Team

Boeing added Diehl Defence and Rohde & Schwarz to MQ-28 team at ILA Berlin on 10 June 2026, while Rheinmetall stays leading systems integration.
Diehl Defence will handle weapons integration and supply data, training and software for missiles.
Rohde & Schwarz will integrate communications systems, Networked Multipoint Array Communications System (NEMACS), with Bundeswehr command and weapons.
The team will provide logistical support to meet requirements for the autonomous combat drone.

Summary

Rheinmetall Negotiates Contract

Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger says negotiations with the German government must reach a final contract stage next year for the MQ-28 to be delivered by 2029.
The Ghost Bat drone has logged more than 200 flight hours, exceeding the previously reported 150 test sorties.
Helsing introduced the CA-1EA electronic-attack variant and announced the CA-1KA kinetic-attack version, slated for its maiden flight in early 2027.

Summary

Boeing Deploys Drone

Boeing flew the MQ-28’s first operational missions outside Australia at Point Mugu on May 27 2026, following former Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall’s August 2022 proposal for a Pentagon purchase.
On June 1 2026 Boeing confirmed validation of the drone’s radar cross-section, confirming its stealth capability for contested-airspace missions.
Boeing is courting Indo-Pacific customers—including Japan, South Korea and Singapore—while highlighting Block 3’s internal weapons bays and beyond-line-of-sight SATCOM link that permit independent operation beyond 2,000 nautical miles.

History

Historical Context

In the early 2000s the U.S. Navy, after awarding $2 million contracts in 2000, funded Northrop Grumman’s X-47A Pegasus, which rolled out on 30 July 2001 and first flew on 23 February 2003 as a carrier-based unmanned combat demonstrator. The successful X-47B UCAS-D tests paved the way for Europe’s MQ-28 Ghost Bat program, now integrating weapons from Boeing, Rheinmetall, Diehl Defence and Rohde & Schwarz.

1 of 4

Boeing Expands Team

Boeing added Diehl Defence and Rohde & Schwarz to MQ-28 team at ILA Berlin on 10 June 2026, while Rheinmetall stays leading systems integration.
Diehl Defence will handle weapons integration and supply data, training and software for missiles.
Rohde & Schwarz will integrate communications systems, Networked Multipoint Array Communications System (NEMACS), with Bundeswehr command and weapons.
The team will provide logistical support to meet requirements for the autonomous combat drone.

1 / 4