Boeing has formally welcomed SRC Inc.’s Australian company, SRC Aus Pty Ltd. into the Ghost Bat Australian Team to provide a novel radio frequency (RF) mission payload for the MQ-28 program.

“SRC Aus is proud to provide this cutting-edge capability to Boeing’s MQ-28A,” said Darren Robertson, managing director of SRC Aus.

“The payload embodies SRC’s most modern capabilities, combining over 65 years of knowledge and experience supporting U.S., Australian and allied governments.

SRC Aus joins more than 200 Australian companies on the MQ-28 program being co-developed by Boeing Australia and the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF).

“In the past 12 months we have increased the number of Australian companies specifically engaged on the development of the platform from 55 to 74 as we continue to work at speed to validate the mission system, payloads and operational requirements of this advanced capability,” said Glen Ferguson, Boeing’s MQ-28 global program director.

“Expenditure through Australian industry represents more than 70% of the MQ-28 Ghost Bat program with services including advanced manufacturing, composite fabrication, precision machining, mission systems, electrical systems, flight control and navigation, airframe control and landing gear."

“The maturity of our supply chain demonstrates our progress and commitment to providing opportunities for Australian companies to grow with us as we continue to advance towards delivering an operationally-capable platform and explore markets outside of Australia.”

SRC Aus has been a supplier to Boeing since 2017.

Since its inception in 2017, Boeing’s Australian MQ-28 program has progressed from initial design to accelerating and exceeding milestones, most recently completing successful teaming flights during which multiple aircraft have tested mission scenarios and shared information while airborne.