Australia orders operational Ghost Bat drone for military after weapons test

SYDNEY, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Australia said on Tuesday it had struck a A$1.4 billion ($930 million) contract with Boeing Defence Australia for six operational Ghost Bat drones for the Australian Defence Force, after conducting the first live weapon test on an aerial target.

The announcement coincided with talks between Australian and U.S. defence and foreign ministers in Washington, where the security allies agreed to joint production and maintenance of hypersonic cruise missiles in Australia, and more rotations of U.S. bomber aircraft.

The U.S. is pressing its Indo Pacific ally to increase defence spending.

The Ghost Bat or MQ-28A is the first military aircraft designed in Australia in more than 50 years, to fly as a partner with crewed surveillance and fighter jets to a range of more than 3,700 km (2,300 miles).

Defence Minister Richard Marles said in a statement on Tuesday the Ghost Bat had recently tested an AIM-120 air-to-air missile against an aerial target, which demonstrated its "growing potential to deliver an operational capability for the Royal Australian Air Force".

Australia has previously said it will spend A$10 billion on drones over the next decade.

Marles told reporters in Washington, after meeting U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, that more infrastructure would be built in Australia's north to support increased rotations of American military aircraft.

"That includes fighter planes, bombers and intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft, and that builds on the existing rotations which are happening right now," he said.

They had also agreed to "the pre-positioning of significant American assets in Australia", including Osprey aircraft used by the U.S. Marine Corps.

Australia said in October it would spend A$1.7 billion on a fleet of Ghost Shark autonomous undersea vehicles, developed by its defence force and U.S. startup Anduril Industries.

The Australian Defence Force has previously said it wants to incorporate autonomous technology to defend a vast coastline and up to 3 million square kilometres (1.2 million square miles) of northern ocean.

($1 = 1.5099 Australian dollars)

(Reporting by Kirsty Needham; Editing by Kate Mayberry)

((Kirsty.Needham@thomsonreuters.com;))