"San Diego-based Shield AI is developing a first of its kind fighter jet: a 2,000-mile-range pilotless plane that takes off and lands vertically and uses artificial intelligence to fly itself, even when adversaries jam navigation and communication systems. Like the company's smaller, combat-tested autonomous drone, the V-BAT, the X-BAT doesn't need a runway, allowing it to launch from remote islands or the decks of aircraft carriers or drone ships. But with its larger blended wing body design, the X-BAT can carry missiles and electronic weapons."
"The aircraft could join a new class of AI-piloted fighter jets being developed for the Pentagon and other defense agencies, where the aim is to deploy robotic wingmen alongside human pilots or as part of separate drone squadrons. Taking their cue from the fierce drone war in Ukraine, military officials around the globe are eyeing layers of cheaper, more disposable AI-powered drones on air, land, and sea, with a single soldier responsible for an entire swarm."
Shield AI is building the X-BAT, a 2,000-mile-range, pilotless fighter that takes off and lands vertically and uses artificial intelligence to navigate even under jamming. The X-BAT requires no runway and can launch from remote islands, carrier decks, or drone ships, and its blended wing body enables carriage of missiles and electronic weapons. The design is afterburning-jet powered rather than propeller-driven. The X-BAT fits into a broader push for AI-piloted fighters and robotic wingmen, inspired by recent drone conflicts, while militaries and investors pursue layered, cheaper, disposable autonomous systems across air, land, and sea.
Read at Fast Company
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