Robot model
Shield AI V-BAT
Group 3 VTOL fixed-wing ISR/targeting drone (designated MQ-35) that takes off and lands vertically from a small footprint, powered by the Hivemind autonomy…
- Manufacturer
- Shield AI
- Form factor
- aerial
- Maturity
- production
- Lifecycle
- active
- Deployments
- 3
- Website
- shield.ai ↗
Appears inMilitary & defense drones
Overview
Group 3 VTOL fixed-wing ISR/targeting drone (designated MQ-35) that takes off and lands vertically from a small footprint, powered by the Hivemind autonomy stack and resilient in GPS- and communications-denied environments. Fielded in Ukraine and selected by the US Coast Guard. (V-BAT Teams is a multi-aircraft capability, not a separate model.)
Verified vs. claimed
- Maturity stage
- production(Full-scale production deployment with repeat customers.)
- Verified deployments
- 3 deployments on file
- Sources on file
- 3 sources, view all
Key facts
Form factor
aerial
Type
VTOL fixed-wing
Group
Group 3
Designation
MQ-35
Autonomy level
Hivemind
EW resilient
true
Specs
Type
VTOL fixed-wing
Group
Group 3
Autonomy
Hivemind
Designation
MQ-35
Ew Resilient
true
Data & sources
Press releases
3
3 sources backing this record.View all →
Availability and pricing
- Availability
- Not sold (internal use)
- Price
- Not publicly disclosed
- Units in field
- Not disclosed
- Sales model
- Not disclosed
- Lead time
- Not disclosed
Accountability: Shield AI has a Claim Integrity of 100% (3 of 3 public claims verified). See the industry ledger.
Pricing
No verified price is on record for Shield AI V-BAT. Physical-AI systems are often sold through enterprise contracts or operated as a service rather than at a public list price.
Deployments (3)
- Shield AI V-BAT at San Diegooperational
Shield AI V-BAT VTOL UAS deployed with US military and international customers.
- Shield AI V-BAT at United Statesoperational
Operated by United States Coast Guard
Shield AI V-BAT vertical-takeoff-and-landing unmanned aircraft active with US Coast Guard.
- Shield AI V-BAT at Ukraine (combat zones)operational
V-BAT operations in Ukraine in partnership with Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces: 130+ sorties in electronic-warfare-denied conditions, including locating a Russian SA-11 Buk air-defense system that was then struck.
Shield AI V-BAT on the deployment map
Where Shield AI V-BAT is verified operating. Explore the deployment map by place and type.
- delivery and inspection drones in United States →
- delivery and inspection drones in California →
- delivery and inspection drones in Ukraine (combat zones) →
- delivery and inspection drones in Nevada →
- delivery and inspection drones in United Kingdom →
- delivery and inspection drones in China →
- The global deployment map →
Recent activity
- CreatedMay 31, 2026
Deployment-verified media (1)
Shield AI's presentation of its V-BAT VTOL uncrewed aircraft operating in autonomous teams via its Hivemind autonomy. An ISR platform; swarm and contested-environment claims are Shield AI's.
From deployment: United States
Runs on (1)
- Shield AI Hivemindfoundation-model · production
Supply chain (1)
Compute / semiconductor
- NVIDIANVIDIA GPU (specific model undisclosed; Shield AI describes 'modular Nvidia GPU upgrade') running Hivemind autonomy AI pilot -- provides onboard AI compute for autonomous multi-drone swarming, electronic warfare navigation, and GPS-denied operation in the V-BAT Teams configurationsupplies
Suppliers appear here when verified with at least two strong sources (maker-official / IR / regulatory / standards-body / verified tier-2). Sources are append-only; corrections add new sources rather than rewrite history.
Safety record
No incidents on record for Shield AI V-BAT.
Only active incidents are counted. Retracted incidents are excluded from this summary but remain reachable at their canonical URLs.
Sources (3)
Compare Shield AI V-BAT
Common questions
- What is Shield AI V-BAT?
- Group 3 VTOL fixed-wing ISR/targeting drone (designated MQ-35) that takes off and lands vertically from a small footprint, powered by the Hivemind autonomy stack and resilient in GPS- and communications-denied environments. Fielded in Ukraine and selected by the US Coast Guard. (V-BAT Teams is a multi-aircraft capability, not a separate model.)
- How much does Shield AI V-BAT cost?
- Shield AI V-BAT's price is not publicly disclosed. DEPLOY has no verified price on record for Shield AI V-BAT from Shield AI. Physical-AI systems like this are often sold through enterprise contracts or operated as a service rather than at a public list price; check the manufacturer for the latest.
- Is Shield AI V-BAT actually deployed in the real world?
- Yes. Shield AI V-BAT is independently verified in real-world operation on the DEPLOY registry, confirmed at named deployment sites with primary sources: not a concept, render, or demo-only.
- Is Shield AI V-BAT autonomous or teleoperated?
- Partly. DEPLOY verifies Shield AI V-BAT operating autonomously for flight in GPS- and communications-denied environments. Other capabilities (Multi-drone autonomous team operations) are only demonstrated under teleoperation or remain vendor claims, not independently verified as autonomous.
- Who makes Shield AI V-BAT?
- Shield AI V-BAT is made by Shield AI, based in San Diego, California, USA, founded in 2015.
- Where is Shield AI V-BAT deployed?
- 3 verified deployments of Shield AI V-BAT are on the DEPLOY registry, including at San Diego, United States, Ukraine (combat zones).
- Can you buy Shield AI V-BAT?
- Shield AI V-BAT is in commercial deployment and is sold to operators; contact the manufacturer to buy, and see the pricing section for any recorded price.
- What AI powers Shield AI V-BAT?
- Shield AI V-BAT runs Shield AI Hivemind. Each brain assignment is verified at the registry level via primary sources.
- What are alternatives to Shield AI V-BAT?
- On the DEPLOY registry, comparable aerial robots to Shield AI V-BAT include Skydio X10, Wing Delivery Aircraft, MQ-9 Reaper, Matternet M2.
- How does Shield AI V-BAT compare to Skydio X10?
- Shield AI V-BAT and Skydio X10 (Skydio · 5 deployments) are both aerial robots on the DEPLOY registry. Shield AI V-BAT has 3 verified deployments on record. Compare both records for specs, safety, deployments, and verified-vs-claimed autonomy.
- Is Shield AI V-BAT a top aerial?
- On DEPLOY's intelligence score, which blends verified deployments, safety, adoption, media, and IP signals, Shield AI V-BAT ranks in roughly the top 6% of aerial models tracked by the registry.
- What is Shield AI V-BAT's maturity stage?
- Shield AI V-BAT is at the production stage on the DEPLOY maturity ladder (research, prototype, pilot, commercial, production). Production stage means high-volume manufacture and commercial-scale deployments are sustained.
- Is Shield AI V-BAT safe?
- Shield AI V-BAT has no incidents on record in the DEPLOY registry. This does not constitute a safety guarantee; it reflects the incidents DEPLOY has tracked and verified to date.
Methodology: Verified · 3 sources (3 primary) · last reviewed 2026-07-12
Verification posture
Verified
High confidence
Review state
Stable
Last reviewed 2026-07-12
Maturity + lifecycle
Maturity stage: production
Lifecycle: active
Architectural position
Cohort: aerial
Sources by quality tier
- 3
- primary-company-ir
- Company IR disclosure
The framework is documented at /methodology. Corrections at /corrections. Reviewer: DEPLOY editorial team.
Methodology surface for Shield AI V-BAT.Recent coverage
Shield AI V-BAT in third-party press
Attention vs reality over time
Media mentions per month (area) against verified deployment events (dots). A press spike over a flat deployment line is the hype gap, drawn over time.
In the press
Recent coverage mentioning Shield AI V-BAT from third-party publications. Automatically surfaced; not part of the verified registry record.
New Pentagon unmanned czar will oversee most drone programs
The Pentagon established a new office to oversee tens of billions of dollars in drone programs across the entire military according to a memo. The unmanned czar will coordinate…
Poland buys V-BAT drones to boost Baltic Sea naval operations
The deal puts Poland in line to become the first country on NATO’s eastern flank to acquire the Shield AI-made drone.
Poland buys V-BAT drones to boost Baltic Sea naval operations
The deal puts Poland in line to become the first country on NATO’s eastern flank to acquire the Shield AI-made drone.
Anduril and General Atomics win contracts to build drone wingmen for US Air Force
The US Air Force awarded production contracts to Anduril and General Atomics to build the first operational CCA drone wingmen. Shield AI and Collins Aerospace also received…
Air Force picks Anduril, General Atomics to build first operational CCA drones
The U.S. Air Force selected Anduril and General Atomics for CCA production. Anduril produces FQ-42A, General Atomics FQ-44A. Shield AI and Collins also received autonomy software…
Shield AI awarded US Air Force production contract for collaborative combat autonomy
Shield AI awarded US Air Force production contract. Focus on implementing collaborative combat autonomy behaviors involving multiple autonomous aircraft.
Shield AI completes acquisition of Aechelon Technology
Shield AI completed its acquisition of Aechelon Technology following the close of its 2B strategic financing package, which includes 1.5B in Series G equity and 500M in debt.
Defense Startup Shield AI Nabs B at 2.7B Value
Shield AI raised B at 2.7B valuation, more than doubling from .3B in one year. Acquiring Aechelon Technology.
Shield AI to acquire Aechelon and raise B at 2.7B valuation
Shield AI raising B (.5B Series G + 00M) at 2.7B post-money valuation. Acquiring Aechelon Technology for simulation. More than doubled from .3B in one year.
Machine-readable surfaces
- Markdown mirror: /models/shield-ai-v-bat.md
- JSON-LD: embedded in this page’s head
- REST API: /v1/models/13b0e05a-898e-4195-b200-70b7fd9bbf6d
- Revision history: /models/shield-ai-v-bat/history
- Data documentation: /data
- Query this programmatically: Deploy MCP
Buyer-facing pricing: deploy.report/price/shield-ai-v-bat
Video
Reality vs attention
Shield AI V-BAT draws attention at the 89th percentile but verifies reality at the 91st percentile among aerial robots. Hype Gap -1.6, 36th widest among aerial robots.
6-month trend
Analysis
Strong recent media coverage and press activity. Thin deployment record; scale validation still in progress.
Signal flags
Dimension breakdown
Verified signal
Attention (reach, not merit)
DEPLOY Intelligence scores are computed from verified registry data: confirmed deployments, disclosed funding rounds, regulatory filings, active job listings, video viewership, and press coverage. Confidence ratings reflect data availability. Scores update nightly.
DEPLOY Indices — verified vs claimed
Last computed: Jul 15, 2026