U.S. Air Force Awards Contract For Intercontinental Range Stealth Drone: GHOST Reconnaissance-Bomber Has Revolutionary Potential

The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory was on May 27 confirmed to have awarded General Atomics a contract to develop “hybrid-electric propulsion ducted fan next-generation intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance/strike unmanned aerial system,” which is expected to benefit from stealth capabilities and a flying wing design. Under a program referred to as GHOST, the aircraft is intended to be considerably quieter and more efficient than preceding large drone designs, and to retain an unprecedented 60 hour endurance allowing it to engage targets across intercontinental ranges. The Pentagon elaborated on the $99 million cost-plus-fixed-fee deal in its daily contracting notice, stating that the program was intended “to provide capabilities across a spectrum of contested environments.” The contracted first stages are expected to be completed by August 26, 2028. The awarding of the contract follows major progress by Chinese firms to develop long range electric drones, and comes after the <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/china-unmanned-bomber-15hour" target="_blank">unveiling</a> of the country’s CH-7 unmanned long range stealth bomber in early November 2024.<img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2025/05/28/article_68371948e42c95_83306981.png" title="Chinese CH-7 Unmanned Stealth Bomber">Regarding General Atomics’ ability to oversee the operationalisation of ambitious new hybrid-electric propulsion systems on an aircraft, the firm’s spokesman C. Mark Brinkley elaborated: “For more than 30 years, General Atomics has advanced unmanned aerial systems in ways never before achieved and often poorly replicated. Satcom [satellite communications] control? Did it. Kinetic strike? That was us. Automatic takeoff and landing? That, too. Unmanned jets? We’re building our third,” he stated. Hinting at major progress in development, he continued: “We’ve been promising something impressive related to hybrid-electric propulsion, and now I can’t talk about it anymore. That’s how it goes with these things. Contrary to what you see on the news, the revolution won’t be televised.” The potential value of an intercontinental range surveillance and strike aircraft with advanced stealth capabilities remains tremendous, with such aircraft expected to have a longer range than the Air Force’s <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/usaf-retire-b52-finance-b21-stealth" target="_blank">B-21 stealth bomber</a> currently under development, and potentially being better suited to engaging many kinds of lower end targets at a small fraction of the cost. The options for strikes into heavily defended airspace at very long ranges could thus be expanded considerably, with the GHOST unmanned aircraft potentially providing valuable support to B-21 attacks over distances which other penetration aircraft are unable to operate. The U.S. Air Force’s increasing focus on the Pacific theatre, where particularly long distances separate U.S. forces from potential targets, increase the potential appeal of aircraft with such ranges in both combat and non-combat roles. Successes developing the new aircraft’s propulsion system could allow multiple future aircraft to use derivatives of the same system in future.&nbsp;