Facts

• Company: Shield AI
• Product type: UAV
• Status: prototype
• Capability focus: Generalist
• Website: https://shield.ai/x-bat/

Profile sections

• Summary
• Overview
• Market context
• Audience
• Workflow
• Capability
• Deployment environment
• Positioning tags
• Specifications
• Tags
• Record / Articles
• Timeline / Research
• Comparable Systems
• Sources

Summary

X-BAT is Shield AI jet-powered autonomous aircraft concept for collaborative combat aviation. It is intended to operate with fighter aircraft as an AI-enabled wingman, carrying out defense missions that require speed, range and autonomy.

Overview

X-BAT is Shield AI jet-powered autonomous aircraft concept for collaborative combat aviation. It is intended to operate with fighter aircraft as an AI-enabled wingman, carrying out defense missions that require speed, range and autonomy.

Market context

AI-piloted VTOL combat aircraft for contested environments, designed for launch and recovery from ships, remote islands, and austere forward bases, built around Hivemind mission autonomy for autonomous and collaborative operations.

• Target environment: Contested airspace, austere operating sites, ships, islands and distributed defence locations.
• Workflow context: Vertical takeoff, autonomous flight, crewed-uncrewed teaming, mission autonomy and contested-air operations.
• Deployment model: Autonomous defence aircraft designed for combat and support missions without runway dependence.
• Commercial maturity: Publicly unveiled autonomous aircraft with VTOL testing planned from 2026 and operational validation targeted later in the decade.
• Adoption constraints: Requires flight testing, airworthiness, defence integration, mission-system validation and production readiness.
• Market position: Runway-independent autonomous aircraft extending Shield AI's Hivemind autonomy into larger combat-air systems.
• Adjacent products: Autonomous VTOL aircraft for combat support, distributed operations and uncrewed airpower.

Audience

Defense

Workflow

Vertical takeoff, autonomous flight, crewed-uncrewed teaming, mission autonomy and contested-air operations.

Capability

generalist

Deployment environment

Contested airspace, austere operating sites, ships, islands and distributed defence locations.

Positioning tags

• Audience: Defense
• Workflow: Vertical takeoff, autonomous flight, crewed-uncrewed teaming, mission autonomy and contested-air operations.
• Capability: generalist
• Deployment environment: Contested airspace, austere operating sites, ships, islands and distributed defence locations.

Specifications

• Wingspan: 11.9 m / 39 ft wingspan
• Range: >2,000 nautical miles maximum range
• Maneuver Load Factor: >4g maneuver load factor
• Propulsion: GE F110 engine
• Launch Recovery: Vertical takeoff and landing for expeditionary and maritime operations
• Task Scope: Contested-environment combat aircraft operations
• Operational Environment: Expeditionary and maritime operations in contested environments
• Operational Role: Autonomous VTOL combat aircraft for runway-independent fighter operations
• Dimensions: 7.9 m x 1.5 m fuselage height / 26 ft x 5 ft; 12.2 m x 4.3 m x 1.8 m storage / 40 ft x 14 ft x 6 ft
• Ceiling: >15,240 m / 50,000 ft ceiling

Tags

• Peer Group: Defence VTOL UAV
• Workflow: Drone ISR
• Capability: Remote operation
• Deployment Environment: Defence operational environment
• Stack Layer: Finished robot platform
• Commercial Stage: Commercial product
• Market Signal: Defence procurement signal

Record / Articles

• 2026-03-06 - Article - Shield AI is turning autonomy software into a defence aircraft company

Timeline / Research

• 2026-03-26 - Acquisition - Shield AI to acquire Aechelon and raise $2 billion at a $12.7 billion valuation - Shield AI announced the acquisition of Aechelon Technology.
• 2025-11-05 - Partnership - GE Aerospace and Shield AI to collaborate on propulsion for X-BAT vehicle program - GE Aerospace and Shield AI announce collaboration on propulsion for X-BAT
• 2025-10-22 - Product Launch - Shield AI unveils X-BAT AI-piloted VTOL fighter aircraft - Shield AI unveiled X-BAT as a new AI-piloted VTOL combat aircraft aimed at contested operating environments.

Comparable Systems

• V-BAT - Shield AI - UAV
• AM - PDW - UAV
• Buntar-3 - Buntar Aerospace - UAV