Shield AI V-BAT

Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) Drone

United States | 2019

"Due to its unique Vertical Take-Off and Landing capability, the versatile V-BAT drone aircraft has a near-zero footprint."

Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 11/30/2022 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site; No A.I. was used in the generation of this content.

Image from the U.S. DoD DVIDS imagery database; Public Release.

The Shield AI "V-BAT" is a tactical-level, Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) whose key quality is the in-built ability to take-off and land vertically as a helicopter while undertaking forward travel as a conventional fixed-wing aircraft. Its versatility is such that the system is marketed to civilian, industry, law enforcement, security services, and militaries worldwide and this sort of exposure places the UAV in a lead role where drug enforcement, maritime law enforcement, forest fire control, border enforcement / patrol, Search and Rescue (SAR), and humanitarian-minded sorties are the call of the day.

Its arrangement is largely conventional with a slim fuselage at center, straight monoplane wing assemblies positioned aft of midships, and a ducted tail fan at the rear. The powerplant is also situated at the rear of the design with an optics blister positioned at the nose in the "chin" position.

Transport of the 9-foot-lomng unit is through hardened containers that fit snuggly into a commercial flatbed pickup and deployment can be handled by a two-person team, the system made ready to fly in as little as twenty minutes. Hover-to-flight is less than fifteen seconds with hover time equaling 45 minutes depending on mission load out (payload capacity maxes at 25lb).

Operation of the unit is through a Ground Control Station (GCS) mimicking a hard-case laptop with complete digital interface. Due to its inherent modularity, the V-BAT can operate a variety of nose-mounted sensors and processing systems including Electro-Optical (EO), Infra-Red (IR), and Surface-Search systems offering 360-degree real-time mission assessments. Beyond ground-operator interaction, the V-BAT also showcases a certain level of autonomy.

At its tail-end, the 125lb (loaded) aircraft showcases a ducted-fan for maximum noise reduction while promoting ground-handling safety, all the while retaining performance and power. The system can take off in high winds and land with equal accuracy and the power in its configuration allows it to hover for a time and fly consistently for up to half-a-day. Accuracy is achieved through thrust-vectoring allowing the unit to land in a space as small as 12x12 feet. The aircraft can reach operating altitudes of 20,000 feet depending on payload configuration and environmental factors.

The V-BAT is proven over land and water (maritime settings), making it an ideal addition to surface ship warfare in the latter. In this way, the V-BAT has secured contracts with the United States Navy (USN) as well as United States Special Operations COMmand (SOCOM) as its vertical nature means the smallest possible footprint aboard space-strapped warships.

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Power & Performance
Those special qualities that separate one aircraft design from another. Performance specifications presented assume optimal operating conditions for the Shield AI V-BAT Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) Drone.

Propulsion

20,013 ft
6,100 m | 4 miles
Service Ceiling

Structure
The nose-to-tail, wingtip-to-wingtip physical qualities of the Shield AI V-BAT Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) Drone.

0
(UNMANNED)
Crew

9.0 ft
2.74 m
O/A Length

9.7 ft
(2.96 m)
O/A Width

126 lb
(57 kg)
MTOW

Armament
Available supported armament and special-mission equipment featured in the design of the Shield AI V-BAT Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) Drone .

None. Mission-specific equipment carried for the ISR role.

Variants
Notable series variants as part of the Shield AI V-BAT family line.

V-BAT - Base Series Name.

V-BAT 128

Operators
Global customers who have evaluated and/or operated the Shield AI V-BAT. Nations are displayed by flag, each linked to their respective national aircraft listing.

Total Production: 35 Units
Contractor(s): Shield AI (Martin UAV) / Northrop Grumman - United States

[ United States ]

Era Crossover

Showcasing Aircraft Era Crossover (if any)

Max Alt Visualization

Production Comparison

35

36183

44000

Entry compared against Ilyushin IL-2 (military) and Cessna 172 (civilian) total production.

Aviation Timeline

EarlyYrs

WWI

Interwar

WWII

ColdWar

Postwar

Modern

Future

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Image from the U.S. DoD DVIDS imagery database; Public Release.

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Image from the U.S. DoD DVIDS imagery database; Public Release.

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Image from the U.S. DoD DVIDS imagery database; Public Release.

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Mission Roles
Some designs are single-minded in their approach while others offer a more versatile solution to airborne requirements.

MARITIME / NAVY

RECONNAISSANCE

UNMANNED

Recognition
Some designs stand the test of time while others are doomed to never advance beyond the drawing board; let history be their judge.

Military lapel ribbon representing modern aircraft

Going Further...
The Shield AI V-BAT Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) Drone appears in the following collections:

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