Shield AI Unveils First Full-Scale X-BAT Combat Drone Prototype
Shield AI has unveiled X-BAT 001, the first full-scale prototype in a planned two-aircraft test program, and the aircraft is being transported from Texas to a flight-test base in Kansas. The jet-powered stealth design uses a GE Aerospace F110 engine, an AVEN vectoring nozzle and Shield AI flight-control technology, with nozzle integration, actuation and engine ignition tests completed in July. Shield AI plans VTOL tests in 2026, a mission-capable flight in 2028 and production in 2029, but the U.S. Navy says deployment depends on further flight testing and combat evaluation.
The prototype provides a concrete test platform for X-BAT's proposed vertical takeoff, ship-based deployment and Hivemind-assisted mission capabilities, while also highlighting how much remains unverified.
美國無人機大廠 Shield AI 近日公開 X-BAT 首架全尺寸原型機，這款採用噴射發動機與匿蹤構型的無人戰鬥機，主打以機尾朝下姿態垂直起降，未來可部署於陸地與軍艦，減少對傳統機場的依賴。
《The War Zone》指出，編號 X-BAT 001 的原型機，是兩架計畫中測試機的第一架，目前正由德州運往堪薩斯州試飛基地。相較於去年公開的概念設計，新機改採後掠角更大的箭頭狀機翼，向量推力噴嘴也向後延伸，超出主翼後緣。
動力方面，X-BAT 採用 GE Aerospace 的 F110 發動機，搭配源自 1990 年代 F-16 實驗計畫的軸對稱向量推力噴嘴（AVEN），並結合 Shield AI 在 V-BAT 累積的飛控技術，支援直立姿態下的穩定控制。雙方已於今年 7 月完成噴嘴整合、作動與發動機點火測試。
#X-BAT 001#Shield AI#GE Aerospace#U.S. Navy#Hivemind#F110#AVEN#V-BAT#RIMES