What if a combat aircraft no longer needed a runway?
Not a shortened one.
Not a damaged one.
None at all.
The X-Bat is an unmanned, jet-powered combat aircraft designed to launch and recover vertically, operate from dispersed locations, and fight alongside manned fighters in the most contested airspace on Earth. And while it’s often labeled as “just another drone,” that description misses the point entirely.
X-Bat isn’t disposable.
It isn’t limited.
And it isn’t built around yesterday’s assumptions about airpower.
Range That Redefines Reach
Vertical launch usually comes with a tradeoff: short legs.
X-Bat breaks that rule.
With a 2,100-nautical-mile combat radius carrying a mission payload, X-Bat has the reach to project power across an entire theater. That means it can launch from a concealed, improvised site, climb to altitude, and remain on station long before manned aircraft arrive.
This kind of range transforms vertical launch from a novelty into a strategic advantage. X-Bat doesn’t just survive in contested environments—it shapes them.
Weapons: A Fighter-Class Payload Without a Cockpit
In terms of payload, X-Bat sits in the same league as an F/A-18 Hornet or an F-35 Lightning II.
Internally, it can carry four AMRAAMs, allowing it to operate in stealthy air-to-air roles while minimizing radar exposure. When stealth is less critical, external hardpoints allow the X-Bat to carry a wide range of modern air-launched weapons, including:
- Precision-guided munitions like JDAMs
- Cruise missiles
- Anti-ship weapons
- LASRams and other smart munitions
This flexibility makes X-Bat a true multi-role aircraft, capable of air-to-air combat, strike missions, anti-ship operations, electronic warfare, and reconnaissance—sometimes within the same sortie.
A Proven Engine in a World of Unproven Drones
Most collaborative combat aircraft concepts rely on business-jet engines. X-Bat does not.
Instead, it uses the General Electric F100, the same engine family that powers the F-15 Eagle and F-16 Fighting Falcon.
That engine family has accumulated an estimated 30–40 million flight hours, making it one of the most combat-proven high-performance turbofans ever built.
This matters for two reasons:
- Afterburner performance — there are moments in combat when extra thrust is the difference between survival and loss.
- Electrical power generation — X-Bat isn’t just flying; it’s running sensors, AI processing, and electronic warfare systems that demand serious onboard power.
X-Bat’s electronic warfare capability is so robust that it can perform missions traditionally flown by a two-seat F/A-18 Growler. And even after it expends its weapons, X-Bat can remain airborne as a jammer and reconnaissance platform, protecting friendly aircraft as they pass through contested airspace.
Thrust Vectoring, Vertical Recovery, and No Human Limits
X-Bat goes even further by incorporating multi-plane, three-dimensional thrust vectoring—a capability currently unmatched in U.S. service aircraft. While the F-22’s two-dimensional thrust vectoring is impressive, X-Bat takes it a step further.
Because there’s no pilot onboard:
- No G-induced loss of consciousness
- No blackout limits
- No need to trade maneuverability for human survival
X-Bat can pull harder turns for longer durations than any manned fighter could tolerate.
That same thrust vectoring enables vertical landing, drawing inspiration from SpaceX rocket recovery techniques. One of the principal designers of the Falcon 9 now works on X-Bat, and the influence is clear.
To protect launch and recovery surfaces, X-Bat employs a blast-shielded vertical launch system—an evolution informed by lessons learned from the F-35B, whose vertical operations can damage conventional runways.
From VBAT to Hivemind: The AI Behind the Aircraft
X-Bat didn’t appear out of nowhere.
Its lineage traces back to the smaller VBAT drone, which has been operated for years by the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard. VBAT proved that vertical takeoff, forward flight, and tail-first recovery were not only possible—but reliable.
The real breakthrough, however, wasn’t the airframe.
It was autonomy.
Shield AI’s Hivemind AI pilot has flown real missions in GPS-denied and communications-degraded environments, making decisions onboard without constant human input. Tested across thousands of simulation hours and real-world flights, Hivemind isn’t reactive—it’s adaptive.
That same AI now scales up to X-Bat.
X-Bat and the F-35: A New Way to Fight
X-Bat isn’t here to replace pilots.
It’s here to change how they fight.
Imagine an F-35 operating with four or five X-Bats ahead of it. The X-Bats scout at altitude, detect threats, suppress air defenses, neutralize enemy fighters, and jam hostile sensors. The F-35 pilot remains at a safer distance, building the battlespace picture and executing the final strike or assessment.
When the mission ends, the F-35 returns to a runway or carrier deck.
The X-Bats recover vertically—anywhere a suitable platform exists.
The Bigger Picture
X-Bat represents a shift toward distributed, resilient airpower.
Fewer fixed runways.
Fewer predictable launch points.
More options for commanders.
More survivability for pilots.
This isn’t airpower becoming automated—it’s airpower becoming smarter.
And that’s why X-Bat matters.