Shield AI Creates US X-BAT Network to Shift Autonomous Fighter From Prototype to Operational Fleet.

Shield AI has established a three-state U.S. industrial network for its X-BAT autonomous vertical takeoff and landing combat aircraft, assigning production to Washington state, flight testing and fleet support to Kansas, and prototyping to Texas. The arrangement creates a defined domestic structure covering the aircraft’s development, delivery, and long-term sustainment across three dedicated sites.

Shield AI is dividing the X-BAT program across facilities in Washington, Kansas, and Texas as it organizes the aircraft’s path from development to operational support. Washington will host production, Kansas will handle flight testing and fleet sustainment, and Texas will remain responsible for prototyping activities. The structure assigns each location a separate role while linking the program’s development, delivery, and future support within the United States.

Related News: U.S. Shield AI Moves X-BAT Unmanned Fighter Toward Production in Poland for NATO

Shield AI’s X-BAT autonomous combat aircraft is designed for vertical takeoff and landing from dispersed land and maritime sites without conventional runways. (Picture source: Shield AI)

Series-production aircraft will be assembled at X-Forge 3 in Des Moines, Washington, south of Seattle. Shield AI has already signed the lease for the site and started building out the facility, while recruitment linked to the program is now focusing on the region. The company said it selected Washington after assessing several locations, citing in particular the concentration of aerospace skills in the Puget Sound area. King County alone has more than 45,000 aerospace workers across more than 400 companies, while the state has a network of more than 1,500 aerospace and space-related suppliers.

After assembly, X-BAT aircraft will be transferred to X-Forge 2 at Newton City-County Airport in Kansas, where each aircraft will undergo production acceptance testing before delivery. Future customers will also be able to conduct their own acceptance flights from Newton, giving the site a direct role in the handover process to operators. Shield AI also plans to conduct development flight testing there and establish the maintenance, repair, and overhaul center for the entire X-BAT fleet.

The company currently leases hangar and office space and approximately 10 acres at Newton City-County Airport. It is working with the City of Newton and Harvey County to expand the site and develop a larger hangar. Shield AI selected Newton in 2025, when the X-BAT design was first presented publicly, but the role assigned to the location is now broader with the addition of long-term sustainment and MRO activities. This structure is intended to retain at the same location the expertise developed during flight testing and later required to support aircraft throughout their service life.

Frisco, Texas, will remain X-Forge 1 and continue to serve as the program's prototyping center, while also hosting activities related to the V-BAT unmanned aircraft. The industrial structure is therefore divided among three complementary hubs, with Texas focused on prototypes, Washington on series manufacturing, and Kansas on testing, acceptance and fleet support. Shield AI continues to target the start of X-BAT production in 2029, followed by a progression toward full-rate production in the early 2030s.

According to the economic analysis released by the company, the Newton and Seattle-area facilities could support about 9,800 jobs by the early 2030s and generate approximately $78 billion in combined economic activity through 2046. In the Newton area, the program could support around 1,800 jobs in the early 2030s and 2,900 by 2046, with close to $5 billion in regional economic activity. In the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue area, Shield AI estimates that the program could support about 8,000 jobs in the early 2030s and as many as 27,000 by 2046, with roughly $73 billion in economic activity over the period. These projections include direct Shield AI employment, supplier jobs and activity generated by local spending from both groups.

The X-BAT is being developed as an uncrewed multirole combat aircraft intended to operate without conventional runways. Shield AI states that the aircraft is designed for a combat radius of about 1,000 nautical miles, or roughly 1,850 kilometers, and will include internal weapons bays sized for weapons in the 2,000-pound class, or around 907 kilograms. The aircraft is expected to use GE Aerospace's F110 engine and Shield AI's Hivemind autonomy system, which is designed to support mission execution when communications or GPS signals are degraded or unavailable.

This configuration is intended to allow the X-BAT to perform air-to-air, air-to-surface, electronic warfare, and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions while reducing dependence on large fixed air bases. Its vertical takeoff and landing capability is intended to support operations from surface vessels, dispersed land sites, or locations without long runways. In an environment where airfields, fuel depots and support infrastructure may be targeted during the opening phases of a conflict, dispersing combat aircraft across smaller operating locations could complicate opposing targeting and help preserve sortie generation.

Shield AI's industrial announcement also comes as the company seeks to expand international interest in the program. The X-BAT has already been linked to industrial discussions in Europe, including with Poland, while its VTOL configuration corresponds to dispersal requirements being examined on NATO's eastern flank and in the Indo-Pacific. For U.S. and allied forces, the ability to deploy autonomous combat aircraft from locations without conventional runways could provide an additional option in theaters where air bases are scarce, distant, or exposed. The establishment of sites in Texas, Washington, and Kansas now gives the program a defined industrial chain covering prototyping, production, testing, delivery, and long-term sustainment.

Written By Erwan Halna du Fretay - Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group
Erwan Halna du Fretay holds a Master’s degree in International Relations and has experience studying conflicts and global arms transfers. His research interests include security and strategic studies, particularly the dynamics of the defense industry, the evolution of military technologies, and the strategic transformation of armed forces.