By A Correspondent
New Delhi: Indian Army has selected a deep-tech company’s autonomy software and military unmanned aircraft for deployment on the borders with Pakistan and China.
Shield AI, the company, announced on January 28, 2026, that the Indian Army selected its V-BAT unmanned aerial systems (UAS) for military deployment.
Under the procurement programme, the company will supply both the UAS and the licence of its Hivemind autonomy software development kit (SDK), which would be integrted on the V-BAT platform.
The company said in a statement that Hivemind enables defence systems to sense, decide, and act, allowing autonomous platforms to adapt to dynamic environments, avoid threats, and complete missions without human intervention.
“The SDK enables the sovereign development, deployment, and evaluation of mission autonomy across platforms and will also be available to select Shield AI partners in India to develop autonomous solutions tailored for India, in India,” it said.
“Shield AI has been an early mover in investing deeply in India, forging strategic partnerships to bring sovereign defence capabilities to the nation,” Shield AI’s India managing director Sarjan Shah said.
“India’s selection of V-BAT and Hivemind for the Indian Army reflects a clear understanding of the resilient, expeditionary autonomy required by modern militaries operating across India’s diverse environments.
“V-BAT’s ability to operate without runways, deliver long-endurance intelligence at the tactical edge, and perform in contested environments makes it uniquely suited to provide intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) from the Himalayas to India’s oceanic borders,” Shah said. This deal builds on Shield AI’s ongoing commitment to India’s security and war fighting needs.
In December 2025, JSW Defence Pvt. Ltd commenced construction of its facility for next-generation unmanned aerial systems (UAS) at EMC Maheshwaram, Hyderabad, as part of its strategic partnership with Shield AI to manufacture V-BAT domestically.
This USD 90 million investment will enable large-scale production of V-BATs in India to serve the needs of the Indian Armed Forces and also function as a global production hub, the company said.
V-BAT is a Group 3 vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) UAS with a ducted-fan design, more than 12 hours of endurance, and a heavy-fuel engine.
Designed, tested, and deployed for the electronic warfare battlefield, V-BAT delivers ISR and targeting at significantly lower cost and logistical burden than larger Group 4 and 5 drones.
Its single-engine, enclosed-rotor design enables safe, unassisted launch and recovery from ship decks, urban rooftops, and austere environments.
Under this partnership, Shield AI’s Hivemind autonomy software will also integrate onto V-BAT as an autonomous pilot, enabling AI-powered perception, cognition, and beyond-visual-range operations.
Founded in 2015, Shield AI is a venture-backed company with the mission of protecting service members and civilians with intelligent systems.
Its products include the V-BAT and X-BAT aircraft, Hivemind Enterprise, and the Hivemind Vision product lines. With nine offices and facilities across the US, Europe, the Middle East, and the Asia-Pacific, Shield AI’s technology actively supports operations worldwide.
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