Shield AI's VTOL stealth X-BAT redefines modern combat aircraft roles
As current conflicts prove, the nature of aerial warfare is transforming almost faster than technology and capabilities can advance. However, one innovative platform – from a young company that has become a major disruptor in the sector – could prove a versatile and cost-effective solution for armed forces confronting a multiplicity of threats. The X-BAT from Shield AI is a stealthy, jet-powered, collaborative combat aircraft (CCA) with a difference. Able to field an array of weapons in its conformal bay with a pair of MBDA Storm Shadow-sized cruise missiles on external hardpoints, it can also take off and land vertically. This allows it to be deployed from almost anywhere within range of enemy targets. Almost as importantly, explains Andrew "Geeky" Hawkes, director of X-BAT campaigns for Europe at Shield AI, that mobility presents a headache for hostile forces. "It creates a huge ISR [intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance] burden on the enemy because it could be anywhere," he says. "It forces the enemy to track all potential sites." As the first weeks of the Iran conflict illustrated, aircraft are not always safe on the ground even when their own military has overwhelming strength in the skies, suggests Hawkes, a retired Royal Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon pilot and instructor, who served in multiple combat deployments. X-BAT places a huge ISR burden on the enemy "In my service career, we spent a lot of time practising to be lethal in the air. We took for granted we would have somewhere to take off from and land. What's changed is that you can't now guarantee that your forces will be safe on the ground, even in an air dominance situation," he says. "The X-BAT's VTOL capabilities allow us to meet an agile combat requirement that's been around as doctrine for years. It fundamentally addresses the question of how you can be agile and survivable by putting an added burden on the enemy. In this way it becomes a genuine force multiplier." Once in the air, in the role of a conventional CCA, the X-BAT can "do everything a manned aircraft can", maintains Hawkes, including multirole strike, conventional air dominance and ISR missions. "But because it's autonomous, it can do all these in a much higher-risk environment than the Typhoon, Rafale, Gripen, or even F-35." The X-BAT, which is powered by a single 30,000lb (133kN)-class GE Aerospace F110, is set to begin flight testing this year, initially as a representative prototype to prove its VTOL capabilities. Flight evaluations will ramp up in 2027 focusing on envelope expansion and expanded autonomy as Shield AI looks to achieve initial operating capability by 2029. Every autonomous air vehicle needs a "brain" to replace the on-board or remote human pilot, and X-BAT's is provided by Hivemind, proprietary, platform-agnostic software developed by Shield AI that goes well beyond the role of a traditional autopilot by enabling unmanned systems to sense, decide, and act, including responding to sudden unexpected conditions. Notably, Shield AI offers the technology to other uncrewed air vehicle developers, and Hivemind currently flies on almost 30 platforms, from small drones to the US Air Force's X-62 test platform, a modified Lockheed Martin F-16, as well as the Anduril Industries YFQ- 44A contender for the US Air Force's autonomous fighter requirement. Shield AI was established in 2015 by brothers Brandon and Ryan Tseng, respectively a former US Navy SEAL and tech entrepreneur, with robotics expert Andrew Reiter. Brandon had come up with the defence-tech start-up concept during an Afghanistan deployment, when he realised that AI-powered systems could be effective without risking allied lives. The company's strength comes from its talent – many of its team worked for SpaceX – and start-up mentality, even though the business is now approaching 2,000 employees, says Hawkes. "We are still obsessively focused on the mission and understanding the customer. We are venture-capital backed which means we can make bold plays and move quickly." He adds: "Our culture means we can attract some of the best talent out there. We have a clear vision and mission to build a truly autonomous platform, where humans might still be in the loop, but they are not responsible for flying the aircraft." The aircraft's VTOL capability allows it to be deployed from almost anywhere within range of hostile targets