Shield AI's X-BAT drone reaches $400 million in backing ahead of flight tests

Shield AI said on Oct. 8, 2026 that funding for its X-BAT vertical take-off and landing drone has reached $400 million, ahead of a flight testing campaign the company says will begin later this year.

Most of that comes from a $150 million contract modification to an existing Other Transaction agreement, awarded through the Office of the Under Secretary of War for Acquisition and Sustainment under its Defense Exportability Features program. In August, the Department of the Navy's Portfolio Acquisition Executive Aviation Rapid Capability Cell, working with the Defense Innovation Unit, committed $50 million, with Shield AI adding $50 million of its own capital alongside that effort. Another $150 million of company capital brings the program to the announced figure.

Shield AI said it is accelerating testing of the fighter-class drone to reduce risk. It also released a new rendering of X-BAT aircraft operating from an Expeditionary Sea Base vessel. In August, the Navy's PAE Aviation office said agility in acquisition matters as much as the technology itself for maintaining maritime superiority.

On Sept. 30, the company named Newton, Kansas, and Des Moines, Washington, as sites for production, flight testing and sustainment, designated X-Forge 2 and X-Forge 3. Shield AI described X-Forge 3 as its first production site in the Puget Sound region and said it plans to expand its footprint there.