Prototype X-BAT VTOL ‘Fighter’ Drone Unveiled
Shield AI has revealed X-BAT 001, the first of two full-scale prototypes of its jet-powered stealth combat drone, designed to take off and land vertically from a tail-sitting position. The prototype carries the full outer shape, a GE F110 fighter engine, and the complete propulsion path, including a thrust-vectoring nozzle derived from a 1990s experimental F-16, and it is now heading to Shield AI’s flight test site in Newton, Kansas. Testing will step from engine runs on its launch trailer, first horizontal and then vertical, to tethered flight beneath a giant crane, before any untethered flights. The US Navy has put $200 million into the effort this year through its Runway Independent Maritime Expeditionary Strike (RIMES) program, matched by an equal investment from Shield AI.
The Read: X-BAT’s real bet isn’t the airframe, it’s the absence of an airfield. With no landing gear and a trailer-based launch and recovery system, it can operate from scattered land sites that keep moving, or from amphibious ships and sea bases, adding air wing capacity without taking carrier deck space. Shield AI says it’s twice the size of the Air Force’s first CCAs and built for strike as well as air-to-air. The hard part is still ahead: tail-sitting jets have been tried before without success, and the company’s goal of a fully missionized aircraft in 2028 and production in 2029 is, as TWZ puts it, extraordinarily ambitious. The first hover will say a lot.
\\ TWZ
X-BAT 001 full-scale prototype \\ Source: Shield AI
\\ Signal Watch
Saab unveils new speed assault boat for Swedish Navy \\ Breaking Defense
Sweden is moving its coastal defense away from large ships and toward small, fast platforms spread across the islands and shallow waters of the Baltic, and Saab’s new CB90CX is built for that plan. Unveiled ahead of Euronaval, the 18 m (59 ft) boat is designed for uncrewed operations and is already in production for the Swedish Navy, the launch customer. Saab says it carries more than 50% more payload than the current CB90 NG and will come in three configurations: surveillance with a Giraffe 1X radar, beyond-line-of-sight anti-ship strike, and short-range air defense with a drone-killing automatic cannon. The company links the design directly to the Swedish Armed Forces’ Amphibious Battalion 2030 concept, though it has not shared a delivery schedule.
Saab CB90CX speed assault boat \\ Source: Saab
\\ Quick Links
Land & Aviation
Airborne Laser Weapon For Tactical Aircraft Being Developed By Germany \\ TWZ
U.S. Army’s HADES Prototype Completes First Flight \\ The Aviationist
US company develops autonomous flying camouflage that can follow military vehicles and deploy decoys \\ Army Recognition
Pentagon is beginning to follow Ukraine into wider use of ground robots \\ Defense One
Drones & Counter-Drone
Rafael presents L-Spike loitering weapons for use with existing Spike missile launcher \\ Defence Industry Europe
Elistair Gives Micro-Drones a Way Around Short Flight Times \\ NextGen Defense
3D-Printed Engine Powers US Army Drone in Breakthrough Flight \\ NextGen Defense
NATO turns 5G towers into sensors in Baltic battlefield experiment \\ Defence Blog
Sweden’s Saab launches family of AI agents for future aircraft projects \\ Breaking Defense
Highlights From North Korea’s Drone-A-Palooza \\ TWZ
Space, Naval & Strategy
BAE Systems launches new Sea Tridon naval gun series \\ Breaking Defense
DGA, Thales, and Lacroix Unveil DAUPHIN Off-Board Active Decoy for French Navy \\ Naval News
French company Kahe Nautic launches low-cost K600 semi-submersible drone for more than 65 maritime missions \\ Army Recognition
Türkiye’s MKE Debuts PIRANA Armed USV Variant with Drone Payload \\ Naval News
HII and Thales demonstrate autonomous mine hunting with integrated detection and neutralization systems \\ Defence Industry Europe
“If we are going to become more efficient, effective, and ultimately dominant on the battlefield, we must fully harness what we already have in America, which is the amazing spirit of ingenuity in our entrepreneurial capital markets and world-class research institutions.”
\\ Beyond the Beam
NASA Announces X-70 Fractal, its Latest Experimental Aircraft \\ The Aviationist
Ukraine’s first sovereign communications satellite now operating in orbits \\ Airforce Technology
Scientists develop kerosene-based gel for rocket and satellite propulsion \\ Interesting Engineering
Wearable touchscreen weaves its way into your garment fabric \\ New Atlas
Artist's impression of NASA's X-70 Fractal \\ Source: NASA
\\ Opportunity Intel
Once again, NASA is asking for ideas to rescue Hubble from certain death \\ Ars Technica
U.S. Marine Corps wants new cargo drones that fly 100 pounds 40 miles out \\ Defence Blog
U.S. Army creates new office to run aerial and ground surveillance \\ Defence Blog
Britain sets out £298 billion defence spending plan as government forecasts nearly 60,000 new jobs and industrial growth \\ Defence Industry Europe
European Commission says €21.3 billion in SAFE loans available for defence and Ukraine support \\ Defence Industry Europe
The Plan for a Stronger Canada: Ottawa prioritises domestic defence industry and faster procurement \\ Defence Industry Europe
Canada Invests Up to $1.6 Billion in Cohere for Sovereign AI \\ Canadian Defence Review
How will the Pentagon spend $350 million on quantum computing? \\ Military Aerospace
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