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A Boeing MQ-28 Ghost Bat equipped with an Amraam missile.
Boeing and Rheinmetall have formed a strategic partnership to jointly market the MQ-28 Ghost Bat collaborative combat aircraft (CCA) for Germany’s requirement by 2029.
Under the agreement, Rheinmetall will act as system manager for the MQ-28 in the country. This is aimed at giving the system that Boeing has designed in Australia a more direct route to market in Germany, where local ties have become a key aspect in defense procurement.
The tie-up marks Rheinmetall’s second deal to front a foreign CCA for potential use by the German military, after announcing a tie-up last year with Anduril around the startup's Fury. The German manufacturer also says it has held talks with Lockheed Martin.
Under the Boeing agreement, Rheinmetall would oversee integration of the MQ-28 into existing and future Bundeswehr systems, as well as ensure compliance with the NATO state’s operational and logistical requirements, if it makes its way into German military inventory.
Rheinmetall faces competition to secure a German CCA commitment. Airbus and Kratos are working together with an eye on testing this year. German startup Helsing is meanwhile working on a home-grown system.
Rheinmetall and Australian partners will also participate in testing and validation of new software using a digital engineering environment.
“As a system integrator, we ensure that integration, operation and further development come from a single source, while strengthening industrial value creation through an industrial hub in Germany and Europe,” Rheinmettal CEO Armin Papperger said March 31. “We see revenue potential for Rheinmetall in the range of hundreds of millions of euros.”
The MQ-28 Ghost Bat has conducted more than 150 test flights, including a live-fire demonstration involving an RTX AIM-120 Amraam against a target drone in December 2025. Glen Ferguson, Boeing’s MQ-28 global program director, said at that time that the Ghost Bat ’s open architecture allows quick integration of other sensors or payload, even if the actual airframe is not yet designed for it.
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