Japan is 6,800 islands long. Defending that coastline with crewed fighters means either an air force it cannot afford or gaps it cannot accept. Which is why Tokyo is now designing a coastal defence concept built around uncrewed aircraft — and why every large defence contractor in the world would like to sell it one.

Boeing has moved first. In an interview with the Japanese business daily Nikkei published on 2 September 2026, Steve Parker, president and chief executive of Boeing Defense, Space & Security, said the company is discussing the MQ-28 Ghost Bat with Japan’s Ministry of Defense. Airbus, according to the same reporting, is weighing whether to compete for part of the requirement. Japanese and other foreign contractors are manoeuvring for position too.

The programme they are all circling has a name: SHIELD — Synchronized, Hybrid, Integrated and Enhanced Littoral Defense. Japan has put roughly ¥100 billion, about $677 million, into its fiscal 2026 budget for it, and intends to start fielding the architecture during fiscal 2027.

What a Ghost Bat is for

The Ghost Bat, originally the Boeing Airpower Teaming System, is a loyal wingman: an aircraft designed to fly alongside crewed fighters, linked over a network, sharing sensor data and pushing the manned aircraft’s reach further forward without putting a second pilot in the threat.

It was developed in Australia, by Boeing’s Australian subsidiary together with the RAAF — the first military combat aircraft designed and built in Australia in more than half a century, and a genuinely unusual thing for an American prime to have done offshore.

Progress has been steady rather than spectacular. By late 2024 Australia had eight early-production Block 1 aircraft, which had logged more than 100 hours of flight testing at the Woomera Test Range and dropped live weapons from under-wing hardpoints. Boeing is now building nine Block 2 aircraft as a transitional standard, with an enlarged Block 3 planned that adds an internal weapons bay and more range.

The MQ-28 demonstrating its combat capability.

A sales campaign on three continents

Japan is not the only pitch in flight. In March 2026 Boeing partnered with Rheinmetall to offer the Ghost Bat to Germany for its own uncrewed fighter requirement. In June it flew in a large multinational exercise for the first time, operating out of the Mariana Islands during Valiant Shield 2026 alongside forces from the United States, Australia, Japan, Canada and New Zealand — which means Japanese officers have already watched it work.

And over the summer a Ghost Bat completed flight testing at Naval Air Station Point Mugu in California, wearing a new two-tone grey scheme and carrying, for the first time, an infrared search and track sensor in its modular nose. That is widely read as Boeing lining the aircraft up for the US Navy’s carrier-based uncrewed fighter programme.

One airframe, four customers, four different arguments. The modular nose is not a marketing gimmick; it is the mechanism by which the same aircraft becomes a different product in each competition.

Behind the scenes on an MQ-28 sortie with a Wedgetail and a Super Hornet — the teaming concept Japan is being sold.

Japan has been quietly preparing for this

Tokyo did not arrive at this cold. In early 2025 Japan’s defence ministry awarded Boeing a contract worth roughly ¥155 million, about $997,000, to simulate uncrewed aircraft capable of operating alongside crewed jets — manned-unmanned teaming research tied directly to its next-generation fighter, the programme Japan is developing jointly with the United Kingdom and Italy.

Small money, large signal. Japan has also agreed with the United States and Taiwan, back in 2023, to share real-time drone data in support of Pacific defence coordination, and in 2024 the US confirmed Japan would formally join its Collaborative Combat Aircraft programme — the American effort that gave the loyal wingman concept its current shape.

So the question in front of the Japanese MoD is not whether to buy uncrewed wingmen. It is whose, and how much of the work is done in Japan. That last part is usually the one that decides these competitions, and it is where a European bid, or a domestic one, could still make life difficult for Boeing.

Domande frequenti

Is Japan buying the MQ-28 Ghost Bat?

Not yet. Boeing has said it will propose the MQ-28 Ghost Bat to Japan’s Ministry of Defense as Tokyo develops a coastal defence concept built around uncrewed aircraft. Steve Parker, president of Boeing’s defence division, confirmed the plan to Nikkei. No requirement has been finalised and no contract has been awarded.

Cos'è l'MQ-28 Ghost Bat?

The Ghost Bat, formerly the Boeing Airpower Teaming System, is an uncrewed loyal wingman aircraft roughly 12 metres (39 feet) long, developed by Boeing’s Australian subsidiary together with the Royal Australian Air Force. It is designed to fly alongside crewed fighters, networked to share sensor data and extend a manned aircraft’s reach without risking a second pilot, and can also operate autonomously.

How many Ghost Bats have been built?

As of late 2024 Australia had received eight early-production Block 1 aircraft, which had logged more than 100 hours of flight testing at the Woomera Test Range and carried out live weapons drops from under-wing hardpoints. Boeing is building nine Block 2 aircraft as a transitional version and has said it plans a larger Block 3 with an internal weapons bay and greater range.

Who else is Boeing offering the Ghost Bat to?

Boeing partnered with Rheinmetall in March 2026 to offer the Ghost Bat to Germany’s air force. The aircraft has also completed flight testing at Naval Air Station Point Mugu carrying an infrared search and track sensor in its modular nose, widely seen as positioning for the US Navy’s carrier-based uncrewed fighter programme.

Has Japan worked with Boeing on drones before?

Yes. In early 2025 Japan’s defence ministry awarded Boeing a contract worth roughly ¥155 million, about $997,000, to simulate uncrewed aircraft capable of operating alongside crewed jets. That work is part of Japan’s manned-unmanned teaming research tied to its next-generation fighter programme, which it is developing jointly with the United Kingdom and Italy.

Who else might compete for Japan’s drone programme?

According to Nikkei, Airbus is weighing whether to enter the Japanese drone market, and American, European and Japanese defence contractors are all competing for position ahead of the ministry’s coastal defence buildout, alongside newer companies seeking a foothold.

Sources: Nikkei interview of 2 September 2026; Air Data News; The Defence Blog; Boeing; Royal Australian Air Force. No direct quotation from Steve Parker is reproduced here because the original Nikkei wording was not available to us in full.