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Navy/USMC

Shield AI Producing Upgraded V-BAT With Greater Range, Other Capabilities

By Cal Biesecker

Monday, April 7th, 2025

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Shield AI Producing Upgraded V-BAT With Greater Range, Other Capabilities

Shield AI's upgraded V-BAT UAS features greater range and takeoff and landing without human assist. Photo: Shield AI

Shield AI on Monday unveiled an upgraded version of the company’s marquis drone, the V-BAT, which it says now has capabilities of Group 4 and 5 unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) in its smaller Group 3 package. The upgraded V-BAT, which is in production, includes a heavy-fuel engine optimized for JP-5 maritime aircraft fuel, extending the range of the current oil and gas fueled model to more than 13 hours versus over 10. Moreover, unlike the current V-BAT that requires human…

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