Science & Tech · Gadgets & EVs · 5 hrs ago
Shield AI unveils full-scale X-BAT fighter prototype
Shield AI has completed the first full-scale X-BAT prototype, an autonomous fighter aircraft designed to fly without a pilot.
The prototype was built in Frisco, Texas, and is being taken to a flight-test center in Kansas.
The aircraft is designed to take off and land vertically, so it could operate from ships or remote locations without conventional runways.
It is intended to carry weapons and perform missions such as air strikes, but its advertised range and other performance targets still need to be tested.
Shield AI plans to open a factory in Des Moines, south of Seattle, in spring 2027, and expects its first X-BAT to come off the line in 2028.
The company says the regional buildout could employ 4,000 people by the early 2030s, with production planned to reach about 150 aircraft a year.
Engineers will test the aircraft’s propulsion and vertical-flight systems before attempting an untethered flight, though no date for that flight is given.
Shield AI has completed the first full-scale prototype of its X-BAT autonomous fighter aircraft.
The prototype was built in Frisco, Texas, and is being transported to a flight-test facility in Newton, Kansas.
X-BAT is designed to take off and land vertically without conventional runways.
Shield AI plans to open a manufacturing facility in Des Moines, Washington, in spring 2027.
The company expects the first X-BAT aircraft to come off the production line in 2028.
- Who
- Shield AI, a defense technology company, completed the prototype.
- What
- The company unveiled its first full-scale X-BAT autonomous fighter prototype.
- When
- The prototype was completed in 2026; the articles were published November 4, 2026.
- Where
- It was built in Frisco, Texas, and is being transported to Newton, Kansas, for flight testing.
- Why
- The aircraft is designed to operate without conventional runways and support military missions.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Shield AI and GE Aerospace completed engine ignition, nozzle movement and integration tests at GE’s facility in Peebles, Ohio.
Shield AI unveiled the X-BAT concept, according to Interesting Engineering.
Shield AI announced plans for its 420,000-square-foot X-Forge 3 facility in Des Moines, scheduled to open in spring 2027.
Shield AI completed the full-scale prototype in Frisco, Texas, and began transporting it to Newton, Kansas, for flight testing.
- Prototype
- X-BAT 001, the first full-scale prototype
- Construction site
- Frisco, Texas
- Flight-test site
- X-Forge 2 facility, Newton, Kansas
- Planned factory
- 420,000-square-foot X-Forge 3 facility in Des Moines
- Factory opening
- Spring 2027
- Planned production
- First aircraft expected in 2028; production targeted to reach about 150 aircraft per year by the early 2030s
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What people are saying
This milestone represents a year of sustained effort and discipline from a team that committed to an ambitious design and build schedule and delivered
That is no small feat
We cannot take decades to develop an aircraft when the need is already here