Farnborough becomes battleground for autonomous combat drone programs

The Farnborough International Airshow, which opened on July 20 for its five-day run in England, has become the stage for an intensifying global competition to field autonomous combat drones, with American, Australian, Turkish, and European programs jockeying for attention and contracts.

US Programs Take Center Stage

Boeing The Boeing Company ↗ 0.79% brought its MQ-28 Ghost Bat to Farnborough for the first time, placing the uncrewed combat aircraft on static display in the US Department of Defense corral. The Ghost Bat, co-developed with the Royal Australian Air Force, is among the most mature collaborative combat aircraft programs in the world, having already completed flight testing. At the show, Boeing announced that Leonardo has joined as a European partner for the MQ-28, alongside Eton and Hensoldt.The Robotics Media+2

Nearby, Anduril Industries unveiled Thunder, a tiltrotor autonomous attack drone designed to fly alongside Apache-class attack helicopters. The full-scale model marked Thunder's worldwide debut, with first flight targeted for 2027. Anduril's UK General Manager Richard Drake described the aircraft as operating in packs, "working initially with an attack helicopter like an Apache and sending them forward".youtube+1

Both Anduril and General Atomics are now moving toward serial production of fighter-class autonomous drones after the US Air Force awarded them production contracts on June 17 for Collaborative Combat Aircraft Increment 1. General Atomics will build the FQ-42A Dark Merlin, while Anduril will produce the FQ-44A Fury, with a combined 150 aircraft to be fielded by the end of the decade.DefenseScoop+2

European-Turkish Partnership Emerges

Leonardo and Turkey's Baykar used the show to declare their LBA Systems joint venture fully operational. The 50-50 partnership, headquartered in Italy, unveiled the Astore Levante — a European-market variant of the Bayraktar TB3 fitted with Leonardo sensors and electronic warfare systems, designed for both land and carrier-based operations. Manufacturing of the first batch is already underway at Leonardo's Italian facilities, with delivery expected later this year.leonardo.com+2

A Shifting Landscape

The concentration of autonomous combat aircraft programs at a single trade show underscores how rapidly the sector has moved from experimental prototypes to production commitments. The US Air Force's CCA contracts, awarded four months ahead of schedule, signal urgency driven by peer competition. For European nations seeking to close a drone capability gap exposed by the war in Ukraine, programs like the MQ-28 and Astore Levante offer nearer-term options than the continent's longer-horizon crewed fighter projects.台北時報+2