Boeing MQ-28 Takes Flight With US Air Force 8 July

Boeing MQ-28 Takes Flight With US Air Force 8 July reports that Boeing’s MQ-28 Ghost Bat participated in Exercise Valiant Shield alongside a wide set of allied and U.S. platforms, marking its first multinational operational deployment as a collaborative combat aircraft (CCA). The aircraft took part in the June 2026 exercise with forces from U.S. Pacific Command, supporting the U.S. Air Force Experimental Operations Unit’s objectives for CCA integration. Operating from the Marianas Island Range Complex in the Western Pacific, MQ-28 helped crews refine tactics, techniques, and procedures for integration into a joint force. Boeing said the exercise was aimed at proving interoperability and the ability to deploy alongside both crewed aircraft and other coalition systems. Boeing officials stated that the MQ-28 is combat capable and that the training allows allied and partner forces to test it firsthand within joint operations. The company added that MQ-28 was built using open mission systems and government reference architectures, enabling rapid integration of sovereign payloads. The biennial Valiant Shield exercise also focuses on detection, locating, tracking, and engaging targets across air, sea, land, and cyberspace.