Shield AI Moves X-BAT Drone Into Testing After Rapid Prototype Construction | Air & Space Forces Magazine
The Navy-backed drone is designed for vertical takeoff and landing, and Shield AI says it aims to fly a fully missionized version in 2028.
- On Wednesday, Shield AI unveiled its first full-scale X-BAT 001 prototype, an autonomous vertical-takeoff drone now being transported to the company's flight test facility in Newton, Kansas.
- Designed for vertical takeoff and landing, the X-BAT addresses threats to aircraft vulnerable on traditional airbases by enabling runway-independent maritime strike operations from ships and remote islands.
- Powered by a General Electric F110-GE-129E engine with an Axisymmetric Vectoring Exhaust Nozzle, the drone utilizes Hivemind autonomy software and is twice the size of the Air Force's first-generation Collaborative Combat Aircraft designs.
- Backed by $200 million in Navy funding for the Runway Independent Maritime Expeditionary Strike program, Shield AI plans a staged testing campaign beginning with crane-assisted trials before attempting untethered flights.
- Senior Vice President of Aircraft Engineering Armor Harris said the team prioritized speed because "a capability is only useful if it arrives in time to matter," with production targeted for 2029.
11 Articles
11 Articles
With GE F110 engine, vectorized thrust and Hivemind software, it seeks to fulfill missions with little human intervention; its flight tests would begin in 2026.
Shield AI Moves X-BAT Drone Into Testing After Rapid Prototype Construction | Air & Space Forces Magazine
Shield AI has finished building its first full-scale prototype X-BAT, a vertical takeoff-and-landing Collaborative Combat Aircraft, and is now moving it into a new development and testing phase. The post Shield AI Moves X-BAT Drone Into Testing After Rapid Prototype Construction appeared first on Air & Space Forces Magazine.
The U.S. company has presented the first real-scale prototype of the X-BAT, an unmanned combat aircraft designed to take off and land vertically
Shield AI to begin VTOL testing on first X-BAT prototype
Shield AI’s first full-scale prototype of its autonomous vertical takeoff and landing X-BAT jet is about to begin a flight-testing campaign, the company announced today, inching the program closer to a stated goal of beginning production in 2029. “The team is laser focused on keeping pace because we know a capability is only useful if it arrives in time to matter,” Armor Harris, senior vice president of aircraft engineering, said in a company ne…
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 67% of the sources are Center
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
