Every UASFeed story on Shield AI — across defense, counter-UAS, industry, commercial, policy, and tech, newest first.
Shield AI says its first full-scale X-BAT tail-sitting jet drone rolls out by the end of October, with $400M now behind the program and a Navy early-capability target of 2029. The engine, nozzle and launch system it depends on still have to be proven.
Read the story →At Land Forces 2026 in Perth, Shield AI and Innovaero signed an MoU to put Hivemind mission autonomy on the Australian-designed OWL loitering munition family. The software is already on the electric OWL-B ahead of flight tests, but no deal value or ADF order has been disclosed.
A thrust-vectoring nozzle that last flew on an F-16 testbed in the 1990s has been refurbished, mated to GE's F110-GE-129E and lit off at Peebles, Ohio — the hardware Shield AI's tail-sitting X-BAT fighter needs to hover on engine thrust, with prototype flight tests slated for later in 2026.
Venture funding into defense and national-security startups hit $14.6B in the first five months of 2026, already crushing 2025's full-year record of $9.6B, as drone and autonomy megarounds from Anduril, Shield AI and Saronic dominate the flow.
Poland's Armament Agency signed a contract with Shield AI for MQ-35 V-BAT VTOL drones to be deployed aboard Polish Navy vessels for Baltic Sea maritime surveillance, with delivery expected by end of 2026.
Russian electronic warfare can blank GPS within 5 kilometers of deployment. Shield AI’s president says 99% of military autonomous systems fail under jamming. The solution — running perception, navigation, and targeting entirely on the drone — is now combat-proven.
Shield AI's Hivemind AI pilot stack has been in continuous combat use since 2018 — from SOCOM building clearances to Ukraine ISR sorties to a live F-16 dogfight with the Air Force Secretary on board.
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