- Shield AI was selected by the U.S. Navy on April 20, 2026, to compete for up to $800 million in contractor-operated ISR task orders.
- Shield AI will deliver Navy ISR services using the V-BAT VTOL drone, already deployed with the U.S. Coast Guard and Marine Corps from Navy ships.
Shield AI announced on April 20, 2026, that the U.S. Navy has selected the company to provide contractor-owned, contractor-operated intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance services in support of naval and joint force operations. Under the arrangement, Shield AI will compete for up to $800 million in task orders alongside other selected industry partners, delivering persistent ISR using its V-BAT vertical takeoff and landing uncrewed aircraft system.
The COCO model — in which the contractor owns and operates the aircraft rather than transferring hardware to the government — gives the Navy access to persistent aerial surveillance without the full acquisition, maintenance, and crew training burden that comes with a traditional government-owned fleet. Shield AI will be competing against other selected partners for individual task orders under the broader vehicle, meaning the $800 million ceiling represents the total pool available across all awardees rather than a guaranteed single-company contract value.
V-BAT is a Group 3 uncrewed aircraft — a classification covering systems between 55 and 1,320 pounds — built around a ducted-fan, vertical takeoff and landing design. It carries a heavy-fuel engine and is rated for more than 12 hours of endurance per mission, giving operators persistent overhead coverage without the need for conventional runways or elaborate launch infrastructure. The enclosed-rotor configuration is a deliberate safety and operational choice: it allows the aircraft to launch and recover unassisted from ship decks and austere land sites, reducing the crew requirements and deck space demands that make larger systems impractical aboard many naval vessels.
Critically, V-BAT was designed with contested electronic warfare environments in mind. Shield AI’s co-founder and president Brandon Tseng pointed directly to that capability in the company’s announcement. “V-BAT has delivered more operational outcomes than any other Group 3 VTOL UAS,” Tseng said. “We’ve interdicted over 100,000 lbs of narcotics in the Caribbean and Pacific. V-BAT has executed hundreds of targeting operations in Ukraine, where GPS and communications are jammed during every mission, and we have delivered substantial outcomes in the Middle East and with our allies and partners.”
Tseng, a former Navy Surface Warfare Officer and SEAL, framed the selection as more than a hardware offering. “We aren’t just bringing the V-BAT product and service to the Navy; we’re bringing a world-class team with a wealth of operational experience and the ability to produce undeniable outcomes for our warfighters,” he said.
The operational record Tseng cited is notable for a system still largely outside public awareness. Hundreds of targeting missions in Ukraine — an environment where Russian electronic warfare routinely disrupts GPS signals and communications links on every sortie — represent a meaningful proof point for a platform being considered for Navy ISR work in similarly contested scenarios. The drug interdiction numbers, meanwhile, speak to the system’s endurance and persistence in long-duration maritime surveillance missions, which closely mirrors the Navy’s core ISR requirements.
V-BAT is already operating with the U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Marine Corps, including deployments from Navy ships, giving the system an established maritime track record that distinguishes it from competitors with purely land-based operational histories. The ability to operate from ship decks without dedicated launch and recovery equipment makes V-BAT particularly relevant for a Navy that cannot always position large aviation assets near areas of interest.
The Navy’s push to expand and modernize ISR capabilities through contractor-operated services reflects a broader Department of War trend toward flexible, commercially sourced surveillance capacity. Rather than waiting years for new government-owned platforms to move through acquisition, the COCO model allows the service to field persistent ISR capability quickly, scale it based on operational demand, and shift financial risk to industry.