In Feb 2024, the Albanese Government allocated $399 million for the ongoing development of the MQ-28A Ghost (Ding) Bat. These are unmanned loyal wingman drones, currently being developed in cooperation with Boeing Defence Australia, via the Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) program.
Although military use of unmanned drones began in 1944 with the BQ-7 Aphrodite, the term 'loyal wingman' refers to the use of artificial intelligence (AI) within an unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV). Similar to Israel's use of AI to survey & generate airstrike targets for an automated genocide, Albanese has committed to developing AI driven weapons.
"This is the first military aircraft to be designed, engineered and manufactured in Australia in more than 50 years" - Minister for Defence, Patrick Conroy
Well done, Pat. I'm sure your kids will thank you.