V-BAT vertical take-off and landing UAV (Photo: Shield AI)
New Delhi: The Indian Army has awarded a contract to California-based deep-tech firm Shield AI to procure an undisclosed number of its V-BAT vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
As part of the agreement, Shield AI will also provide licenses for its Hivemind autonomy software, which will be integrated into the V-BAT platform, the company announced on January 28.
Hivemind is designed to support operations in complex and rapidly changing environments where communications may be limited or unreliable. For the Indian Army, this capability will enable autonomous systems to support missions such as reconnaissance, surveillance, logistics, and force protection. The software allows platforms to adapt in real time, manage uncertainty, and reduce both cognitive and operational burden on soldiers.
Beyond individual platforms, Hivemind enables India to independently build, test, and evolve mission autonomy. Through the Hivemind Software Development Kit (SDK), also known as Hivemind Enterprise, Indian engineers and operators can develop autonomous capabilities tailored to India’s terrain, operational doctrines, and security requirements. This supports greater self-reliance and provides a scalable foundation for integrating autonomy across current and future systems.
The SDK enables the sovereign development, deployment, and evaluation of mission autonomy across multiple platforms and will also be made available to select Shield AI partners in India to develop India-specific autonomous solutions.
“Shield AI has been an early mover in investing deeply in India, forging strategic partnerships to bring sovereign defence capabilities to the nation,” said Sarjan Shah, Shield AI’s Managing Director for India.
“India’s selection of V-BAT and Hivemind reflects a clear understanding of the resilient, expeditionary autonomy required by modern militaries operating across India’s diverse environments,” he added.
Shah noted that V-BAT’s ability to operate without runways, provide long-endurance intelligence at the tactical edge, and function in contested environments makes it well suited for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) missions ranging from the Himalayas to India’s maritime borders.
In December 2025, JSW Defence began construction of a facility for next-generation unmanned aerial systems (UAS) at EMC Maheshwaram in Hyderabad. The facility is part of a strategic partnership with Shield AI to manufacture V-BAT UAVs domestically.
The $90 million investment will support large-scale production of V-BATs in India for the Indian Armed Forces and position the facility as a global manufacturing hub.
V-BAT is a Group 3 VTOL UAS featuring a ducted-fan design, over 12 hours of endurance, and a heavy-fuel engine. Designed, tested, and deployed for electronic warfare environments, it delivers ISR and targeting capabilities at significantly lower cost and logistical burden than larger Group 4 and Group 5 drones.
Its single-engine, enclosed-rotor configuration enables safe, unassisted launch and recovery from ship decks, urban rooftops, and austere locations. Under the partnership, Hivemind autonomy software will function as an autonomous pilot on the V-BAT, enabling AI-driven perception, cognition, and beyond-visual-range operations.
