Shield AI Expects to Fly Its Unmanned Fighter Jet Within Months
- On Thursday, the U.S. Navy awarded a $150 million contract modification to Shield AI for its X-BAT autonomous fighter jet, funding integration of advanced security and export capabilities into the vertical takeoff and landing aircraft.
- Shield AI is matching the Navy's $150 million with $150 million of its own capital, bringing cumulative commitments to $400 million following a prior $100 million joint investment finalized in August with the Defense Innovation Unit.
- Opening a 420,000-square-foot facility in Des Moines, Wash., dubbed X-Forge 3, allows Shield AI to begin production in 2028, scaling to a target rate of roughly 150 jets per year by the early 2030s.
- J.J. "Yank" Cummings, Shield AI's head of mission solutions, said the X-BAT is "being built to enhance the lethality, survivability and combat power of U.S. Naval Aviation" without traditional runway requirements.
- Initial flight tests are scheduled for late 2026 in Kansas, with Armor Harris, senior vice president of aircraft at Shield AI, noting the company is "testing early and often" to reduce development risk and accelerate timelines.
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32 Articles
The aim is to create an industrial base in Greece for the assembly, technical support and maintenance of X-BAT
Navy Bets $400 Million on Shield AI’s Runway-Free Fighter Jet
The U.S. Navy and Shield AI committed $400 million to the X-BAT, an AI-piloted VTOL fighter with 1,000-nm combat radius and no runway requirement. Matched funding advances export features and production in Washington state as flight tests near. The program signals growing Pentagon confidence in autonomous strike aircraft for dispersed naval operations.
The Oregonian
$150 million Navy bet on an AI-piloted fighter jet that flies off ships without runways
The Navy added $150 million to an existing agreement with defense technology company Shield AI to help develop an aircraft that can take off and land from ships without traditional runways.
Shield AI and U.S. government investment in X-BAT reaches $400 million
Shield AI announced that the U.S. Navy has executed a $150 million modification to its existing Other Transaction (OT) agreement with the company to advance X-BAT, an AI-piloted, vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) fighter aircraft. Shield AI press release The Navy executed the $150 million modification with funding from the Office of the Under Secretary ...
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