Shield AI unsheathes X-BAT, a missile-toting autonomous aircraft
Published on October 23, 2025
Shield AI on Tuesday pulled back the curtain on X-BAT, an autonomous aircraft it has for weeks teased as the future of air power.
Why it matters: It's Shield's largest airframe to date as well as its entry into the lucrative robo-wingman space.
- It's also the latest application for Hivemind, a digital brain that's flown on everything from a General Atomics MQ-20 to a Kratos BQM-177A to an Airbus H145.
Zoom in: X-BAT is designed to take off and land vertically, requiring no runway. Three can fit into the deck space of one regular fighter or helicopter, according to the company.
- Conceptual videos shared by Shield show X-BAT is 26 feet long with a nearly 40-foot wingspan. Its range is greater than 2,000 nautical miles.
- That same footage depicts its potential load-outs. One frame shows a Lockheed Martin-made Long Range Anti-Ship Missile. A second shows two RTX-made AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles. A third shows an electronic warfare package.
State of play: Vertical-takeoff-and-launch testing is set for 2026. "Fully operational flight" is expected in 2028.
What they're saying: "VTOL plus range solves survivability on the ground and dependency on tankers," Armor Harris, senior vice president of aircraft, said in a statement.