Royal Australian Air Force Welcomes First $1.6 Billion MC-55A Peregrine Spy Plane
The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) has taken delivery of the first of four MC-55A Peregrine aircraft, a clandestine $1.6 billion spy plane equipped for advanced electronic warfare and surveillance. The modified Gulfstream G550 bizjet, arriving at RAAF Base Edinburgh in South Australia, is a cornerstone of Australia’s push to create a “fully networked fifth-generation air force” capable of dominating the electromagnetic spectrum.
A sleek, unassuming business jet touched down in South Australia, but its arrival marks a seismic shift in the region’s military balance. This is no ordinary aircraft; it is the Royal Australian Air Force’s first MC-55A Peregrine, a flying hub of electronic warfare and intelligence designed to be the brain of the modern battlefield.
According to reports from The War Zone, which first shared photos of the delivery, the jet completed a long ferry flight from Texas, now ready to join No. 10 Squadron. Its mission: to fuse data from fighters, ships, and drones into a single, irresistible picture while simultaneously jamming and listening to enemy signals.
What makes this jet so powerful is what’s packed inside its streamlined fuselage. The exterior gives clues: a large, canoe-shaped fairing under the belly, a bulbous tail cone, and a forest of antennas. These housings likely contain active electronically scanned array (AESA) radars and sensors that allow the Peregrine to perform a devastating mix of signals intelligence (SIGINT), electronic attack (EA), and high-altitude intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR). It can fly for roughly 15 hours at altitudes above 51,000 feet, listening and observing from a position of relative safety.
The true genius of the MC-55A, however, lies in its role as a “mothership” for networked warfare. It is designed to be the connective tissue in Australia’s joint force. In practice, this means a single Peregrine could manage a swarm of MQ-28A Ghost Bat drones, relay targeting data to F-35A stealth fighters and EA-18G Growler electronic attack jets, and provide a communications bridge between E-7A Wedgetail early warning planes and Royal Australian Navy destroyers. This creates an “active net” across vast distances, turning individual assets into a single, cohesive weapon system.
This capability is not an abstract concept; it’s a direct response to escalating regional tensions. The Indo-Pacific is becoming increasingly contested, with Australia’s defense force documenting more frequent and concerning intercepts by Chinese military aircraft. The MC-55A provides a persistent, high-altitude platform to monitor such activity, particularly from strategic locations like the Cocos (Keeling) Islands in the Indian Ocean. Its advanced sensors can gather invaluable electronic intelligence on potential adversaries’ radar systems, communications, and missile defenses, information critical for both peacetime deterrence and potential conflict.
The aircraft’s development, led by L3Harris Technologies, places Australia at the forefront of a niche but critical military domain. While the U.S. operates similar platforms like the EA-37B, the MC-55A is tailored for Australian sovereignty and its unique strategic geography. With three more aircraft to be delivered, the RAAF is investing in a capability that promises to be a decisive, if invisible, force multiplier—ensuring that in the unseen war of radio waves and data, Australia holds a commanding advantage.