Shield AI has opened an office in Kyiv, Ukraine, where it is training Ukrainian warfighters on operations with V-BAT, a vertical take-off and landing drone developed by North Texas’ Martin UAV. [Photos: Shield AI]
Shield AI, a San Diego-based defense tech company, has started training with Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces in Kyiv to prepare Ukrainian warfighters on operations with V-BAT, the vertical take-off and landing drone developed by Plano-based Martin UAV.
Shield AI acquired Martin UAV in 2021 and has established an office in Frisco, north of Dallas. In 2021, Shield AI said it planned to integrate Hivemind, its autonomy software that can be used for a variety of defense applications, into the V-BAT—a move that Shield AI Co-Founder Brandon Tseng said “represents the future of unmanned aircraft.”
That future is certainly here, with Ukraine and Russia becoming 21st-century proving grounds for constantly evolving drone warfare.
Shield AI said its local presence in Ukraine includes “a dedicated team of engineers, mission operations personnel, and technical specialists.” The company said it has already begun working with Ukrainian drone operators, delivering training that will prepare them for deploying V-BATs to the front lines of the country’s war with Russia.
The company first began delivering V-BATs to Ukraine in June 2024, Defence Blog reported.
‘The most cost-effective, strategic targeting drone there is’
A V-BAT drone deployed in Ukraine [Photo: Shield AI]
A former Navy SEAL, Shield AI’s Tseng serves as the company’s president. He calls V-BAT “the most cost-effective, strategic targeting drone there is.”
“In Ukraine, it has targeted strategic Russian surface-to-air missile systems while GPS and communications were jammed,” Tseng said in a statement. “It doesn’t require a runway, which everybody knows are large, stationary, first-strike missile sponges that will be destroyed on day one of any conflict.”
“Drones are not the future of warfare; they are how warfare is waged today,” he added. “It’s just that much of the world is behind and still allocating resources to expensive, vulnerable systems that don’t stand a chance on the battlefield. Our adversaries laugh behind closed doors when we spend tens of millions on legacy systems that get shot out of the sky by $1 million missiles.”
‘Intelligent swarms’ of enemy-hunting drones
Developed by Plano-based Martin UAV, which was acquired by Shield AI in 2021, three V-BAT drones are shown poised for vertical takeoff. [Photo: Shield AI]
In 2023, Dallas Innovates wrote about how Shield AI was developing multiple V-BATs into teams with “intelligent, swarming drone capabilities.”
Tseng didn’t mince words when discussing what these swarms can do.
“Our nation is faced with the difficult reality that our pilots are too few and the rules-based autonomy solutions are too dumb for such swarms to exist,” he said in 2023. “Shield AI changes this. For almost nine years, Shield AI has focused on building the world’s best AI pilot from a common AI backbone that’s relevant and deployable to any aircraft—from quadcopters to F-16s. The technology is ready when we need it most.”
Today—as Ukraine continues to lose incremental ground to invading Russian forces, and a new administration is poised to enter the White House—Shield AI’s technology is where Ukraine needs it most: heading to the front lines.
“The presence of Shield AI’s team in Ukraine is a critical step in enhancing our operational capabilities,” an unnamed senior commander from Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Training Group said in a statement. “Their efforts are ensuring that our forces are well-prepared to meet the challenges of the frontline environment.”
The commander was quoted by Shield AI during “a recent field visit with troops and Shield AI’s in-country team,” the company said.
Addressing advanced electronic warfare threats
V-BAT drones take off and land vertically.[Photo: Martin UAV]
V-BAT is a next-generation VTOL UAS “designed for resilient operations in contested environments, delivering strategic capabilities on par with larger, more expensive platforms,” Shield AI said.
The company says the drones excel at “deep-penetration targeting missions” in GPS- and communications-denied conditions.
V-BAT’s performance in Ukraine “has proven its ability to withstand advanced electronic warfare threats while maintaining reliability and adaptability,” the company added, noting that V-BAT recently showcased its versatility during maritime operations in the Black Sea, “underscoring its value for long-range missions across both land and sea.”
Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces represent the world’s first dedicated military branch employing unmanned aerial vehicles, ground-based robotic systems, and marine surface and underwater drones to carry out a variety of tasks, Shield AI said.
By combining advanced technologies with modern asymmetric warfare strategies, Ukraine’s USF has several key missions. They include protecting Ukrainian citizens and territory, destroying enemy forces, and significantly reducing Russian offensive capabilities.
Shield AI said the USF’s “multi-level approach” enables operations both on the battlefield and at strategic depths, “targeting enemy assets hundreds of kilometers behind the front lines.”
Shield AI now valued at $2.8 billion after $500M Series F round
Founded in 2015, Shield AI is a venture-backed defense technology company that aims to build “the world’s best AI pilot.” Its AI pilot, Hivemind, has flown jets (F-16; MQM-178 Firejet), a vertical takeoff and landing drone (the MQ-35 V-BAT), and three quadcopters (Nova, Nova 2, iPRD).
Earlier this month, Shield AI reached a valuation of $2.8 billion after raising a total of $500 million in its Series F funding round.
The company has offices in San Diego, Frisco, Washington, D.C., and abroad. Shield AI says its products and people are “currently in the field actively supporting operations with the U.S. Department of Defense and U.S. allies.”
A V-BAT drone being launched vertically in Ukraine. [Photo: Shield AI]
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