The MQ-28 Ghost Bat, Boeing Defence Australia’s stealth Collaborative Combat Aircraft, flew alongside crewed US Air Force fighters during Exercise Valiant Shield 2026, marking its first multinational large-force operational deployment. Operating from Rota in the Northern Mariana Islands, the production-representative test aircraft ATS-008 executed offensive and defensive counter-air missions in concert with crewed platforms including F-22 Raptors and F-35A Lightning IIs. This deployment validates human-machine teaming tactics for next-generation airpower integration in contested Indo-Pacific environments. The exercise directly informs US requirements for future CCA programs, accelerating transition from concept to operational use while demonstrating the survivability logic of Agile Combat Employment in austere airfield conditions.