Shield AI Unveils X-BAT: A VTOL, Stealthy Autonomous Strike Jet

Shield AI unveiled the X-BAT, a tail-sitting, vertical takeoff and landing stealth drone that marries fighter-class propulsion with advanced autonomy.

The company bills X-BAT as a runway-independent Group 5 unmanned system built to operate in communications-denied environments and to be launched and recovered from a trailer.

The tailless, cranked-kite flying wing measures about 26 feet long with a 39-foot wingspan. Shield AI says the aircraft will cruise to altitudes above 50,000 feet and exceed 2,000 nautical miles of range with a mission payload. Propulsion comes from an F-16-class afterburning engine, paired with a thrust-vectoring nozzle derived from legacy programs. Internal weapons bays plus external hardpoints are shown carrying air-to-air and strike munitions in company renderings.

What sets X-BAT apart is autonomy. It runs Shield AI’s Hivemind software so the aircraft can fly solo, act as a collaborative combat asset, and continue missions when datalinks are degraded or denied.

Shield AI emphasizes PNT resilience and layered communications so X-BAT can operate without GPS and recover to its trailer even when disconnected from controllers.

The tail-sit launch and recovery approach is intentionally simple: vertical reheat-assisted liftoff, transition to forward flight, then a return-to-trailer vertical landing using modern guidance, navigation and control techniques. Shield AI plans multiple mobile launch trailers per aircraft to disperse basing and increase survivability.

Development milestones include wind tunnel, RCS and engine ground testing. First VTOL demonstrator flights are targeted for late 2026 with full flight testing and operational validation in 2028. Shield AI positions X-BAT as a multi-role, lower-cost option to scale airpower for contested theaters, with unit costs reportedly comparable to other Collaborative Combat Aircraft offerings.