Shield AI has been selected to provide mission autonomy technology for the US Air Force’s (USAF) Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) programme.
The company, which focuses on developing advanced autonomy software products and aircraft, will support the Technology Maturity and Risk Reduction (TMRR) phase following a competitive evaluation process.
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As part of the programme, Shield AI’s Hivemind software has been integrated into Anduril’s Fury (YFQ-44A) aircraft. It is currently supporting system-level testing ahead of planned flight demonstrations in the coming months.
Shield AI CEO Gary Steele said: “The Air Force is moving with urgency to explore how autonomy can reshape air combat, and we have spent years preparing for this—building, testing, and flying mission autonomy in the real world.
“We will work relentlessly to deliver and to help advance the next era of airpower alongside the Air Force and its industry partners.”
Shield AI’s Hivemind functions as an AI pilot or operator for uncrewed defence systems, allowing them to sense, make decisions, and act independently.
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By GlobalDataUnlike autopilot systems that follow set routes, Hivemind can adjust courses to avoid restricted zones, circumvent or engage obstacles, respond to unforeseen situations, and complete assigned missions without human intervention.
The software meets Autonomy Government Reference Architecture (A-GRA) standards and operates across various platforms. It has demonstrated compliance in tests with several government and industry partners, including General Atomics’ MQ-20 Avenger, Northrop Grumman’s Talon IQ ecosystem, US Navy BQM-177 test aircraft, and Airbus UH-72A Lakota helicopter.
Shield AI Hivemind Solutions vice president Christian Gutierrez said: “Delivering mission autonomy in real-world combat conditions is hard, which is why Shield AI has spent more than a decade building Hivemind and the technical and operational foundation to do it right. We value the opportunity to work with the US Air Force on the future of mission autonomy.”
In November last year, Shield AI established a strategic partnership with Netherlands-based Destinus to integrate the Hivemind mission autonomy software into the latter’s aerial systems.
