Shield AI, a U.S. defense technology firm, announced its V-BAT unmanned aerial systems have completed more than 130 sorties in Ukraine, operating alongside the country’s newly established Unmanned Systems Forces (USF).
The missions, conducted in heavily contested electromagnetic environments, mark a new phase in U.S.-Ukrainian defense collaboration.
According to Shield AI, the sorties supported both operator training and live operations, directly enhancing Ukraine’s battlefield readiness ahead of its spring campaign. “The war in Ukraine is the front line of modern warfare,” said James Lythgoe, Shield AI’s Ukraine managing director and a former U.K. Royal Marine. “For defense companies, legitimacy is no longer earned in labs, test ranges, or exercises. It is earned on the battlefield.”
Shield AI, based in the U.S., opened its Kyiv office to directly support integration and deployment efforts. Its team of engineers, mission planners, and trainers are embedded with Ukrainian units. The company has also hired Ukrainian military veterans, with select personnel scheduled to travel to Texas later this month for further training.
The V-BAT system is designed for vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL), with long-endurance capabilities and precision targeting. Its standout feature—autonomous flight in GPS- and communications-denied environments—has proven effective against both Ukrainian and Russian electronic warfare systems.
In a statement from the USF, commanders cited V-BAT’s resilience in EW-heavy zones and praised the effectiveness of Shield AI’s onboard Hivemind software stack. The drone’s ability to maintain ISR and strike capability without reliance on satellite links or remote piloting has made it an asset in current battlefield conditions.
“This operational presence and focus on real-world problems have allowed us to build systems that perform where it matters most,” Lythgoe said. “V-BAT, powered by our Hivemind autonomy stack, remains the only long-endurance ISR and strike platform to penetrate both Ukrainian and Russian GPS and comms jammers.”
The Ukrainian Unmanned Systems Forces is the world’s first military branch dedicated exclusively to unmanned platforms. The service oversees aerial, ground, and maritime drones to carry out missions ranging from reconnaissance to long-range strikes—often far behind enemy lines.