Shield AI’s new unmanned, vertical-takeoff-and-landing fighter jet concept is designed to be a drone wingman or a standalone aircraft, marking the latest autonomous aircraft announcement by defense companies in recent weeks.
The X-BAT, revealed at a private event in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday evening, is Shield AI’s first unmanned fighter jet offering. The San Diego-based AI developer, coming off wins for testing and fielding its autonomous software on military aircraft, sees the fighter drone’s versatility to function as a robot wingman or as a standalone platform as one of its biggest strengths.
“X-BAT’s ability to autonomously operate standalone or collaboratively allows it to project power when other assets aren’t around and simplifies kill chains,” Armor Harris, senior vice president of aircraft at Shield AI, said in a press release.
Shield AI plans to first test the aircraft’s vertical-takeoff-and-landing, capabilities by the fall of 2026, with a full flight test set for 2028, said Lily Hinz, a Shield AI spokesperson. The X-BAT marks the latest unmanned VTOL offering as the U.S. military and other nations continue to field drones and pivot away from runway-reliant aircraft.
Harris, speaking to reporters after the unveiling, said that the company is working with Pratt & Whitney and General Electric on F100 or F110 engines that could be installed in the X-BAT.
“In the coming weeks, we’ll have an announcement as to who our engine partner is that we’ll take through development,” Harris said. When asked which company Shield AI will work with to supply the airframe, the senior vice president said, “We’re partnering with some of the best folks in the industry on various parts of the program.”
Hinz said there’s no specific customer in mind for the unmanned aircraft, but the news release says the aircraft “integrates with current and future Air Force and Navy concepts” and also mentions that “three X–BATs fit in the deck space of one legacy fighter or helicopter.”
Animated video of the X-BAT concept in action shows the group five sized-drone taking off vertically from a launchpad mounted on a trailer and lists cargo ships, aircraft carriers, and cleared landing zones as potential takeoff locations. Shield AI said in one of its videos that the aircraft’s 2,000 nautical mile range can be used for “island-hopping” missions.
The X-BAT has been designed for strike, counter air, and electronic warfare as well as intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions. It’s being built to carry both air-to-air and air-to-surface munitions, videos provided by Shield AI to media outlets explained.
Shield AI has already notched several milestones and collaborations with the U.S. military. The AI company has deployed and tested its V-BAT VTOL recon drones alongside Marines, and Ukrainian special operators have successfully used them to identify and later destroy Russian surface-to-air missile sites amid electronic warfare jamming attacks.
Last year, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall flew in an X-62A VISTA, a modified test aircraft, piloted by Shield AI’s software in a simulated dogfight with a manned F-16 fighter. The company, in collaboration with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s Air Combat Evolution Team, was a finalist for the 2023 Robert J. Collier Trophy by the National Aeronautics Association for those efforts.
The AI company’s VTOL combat aircraft announcement follows announcements from Boeing and Lockheed Martin’s Sikorsky this month revealing their own unmanned VTOL aircraft platforms.
The Navy and Air Force are both fielding Collaborative Combat Aircraft as drone wingmen. General Atomics announced Friday it was selected by the sea service to produce conceptual designs for its CCA efforts. The defense contractor is also competing for the Air Force’s CCA contract alongside Anduril.
Shield AI was reportedly selected to supply Anduril’s CCA offering for the Air Force with its autonomous capabilities. As Anduril and General Atomics compete for the Air Force’s production contract in 2026, service officials expect to award the next round, or increment, of CCA contracts within months.
