Shield AI has completed the first full-scale prototype of its X-BAT vertical take-off and landing aircraft and is moving it from Frisco, Texas, to the company’s flight-test facility in Newton, Kansas. The aircraft will enter a staged test programme focused on its launch and recovery system, progressing from engine runs in horizontal and vertical positions to crane-supported tests and, later, untethered flight. No first-flight date has been confirmed.
The planned sequence will begin with the aircraft positioned horizontally on its launch-and-recovery vehicle for engine runs, followed by vertical engine testing. The prototype will then be suspended from a crane before the company attempts untethered flights. These steps are intended to test the VTOL system; operational performance has not yet been demonstrated.
Shield AI presented the X-BAT design about a year ago. The company envisages an aircraft able to operate without conventional runways and perform strike and other missions. It positions the design as larger and more broadly tasked than smaller, air-to-air-focused Increment 1 collaborative combat aircraft.
The company is targeting a flight by a mission-equipped aircraft in 2028 and production in 2029. Those dates remain programme targets, while the current prototype is entering testing.