Shield AI, a venture-backed defence technology company developing autonomous aircraft systems, has named Kansas and Washington state as the flight test and production homes for its X-BAT fighter jet.
X-BAT is being developed as a long-range, AI-piloted strike fighter capable of vertical take-off and landing, allowing it to operate from ships, islands or austere locations that lack conventional runways.
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The aircraft will accommodate weapons of up to the 2,000lb class within internal bays similar in capacity to those on the F-35, with a target combat radius of 1,000 nautical miles. It will be powered by GE Aerospace’s F110 engine and will fly using Shield AI’s Hivemind autonomy software, which supports operations without GPS or communications.
The company’s facility designated X-Forge 2, based at Newton City-County Airport in Kansas, will serve as the flight test and sustainment centre for the programme. All aircraft will undergo acceptance testing at Newton ahead of delivery, and customers will conduct their own acceptance flights at the site.
The location will also support development flight testing and act as the fleet’s maintenance, repair and overhaul hub.
Shield AI currently occupies leased hangar and office space along with approximately ten acres at the airport and is in discussions with the City of Newton and Harvey County to develop a larger footprint.
The company first committed to Newton last year, when it publicly unveiled the X-BAT design, and has been establishing the site since then.
Shield AI aircraft senior vice president Armor Harris said: “Both these regions were building airplanes before Shield AI existed, and we went to them for that reason.
“Flight test is where an airplane earns its way, and Kansas has the airspace, the hangars and the people who have spent their careers around airplanes.”
The production facility, designated X-Forge 3, is located in Des Moines, Washington. Shield AI has signed its lease and is fitting out the site, with hiring already under way across the region.
Des Moines marks the company’s first location in the Puget Sound area, and Shield AI expects its presence there to expand as production volumes increase.
Harris said: “Puget Sound has been producing aircraft at rate for seventy years and has the engineers, technicians and suppliers that takes. X-BAT will be built in Washington and fly in Kansas before it goes to a customer, and Kansas will keep this fleet in the air for decades.”
Frisco, Texas, where Shield AI’s X-Forge 1 facility is based, continues to serve as the prototyping site and the home of the company’s V-BAT aircraft. Together, the three locations cover the programme from early-stage development through series manufacturing and long-term fleet support.
Production of X-BAT is scheduled to begin in 2029, with full-rate output targeted for the early 2030s. Flight testing is due to commence later this year.
Earlier this year, Shield AI was selected to supply mission autonomy technology for the US Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft programme, with its Hivemind software integrated into Anduril’s Fury unmanned aircraft.
