AEROTIME · DEFENSE
US NAVY ADDS $150M TO SHIELD AI’S X-BAT AUTONOMOUS FIGHTER PROGRAM...
The US Navy has awarded Shield AI an additional $150 million to develop X-BAT, its AI-piloted fighter jet capable of taking off and landing vertically, the company announced on October 8, 2026.
SCOTT: A budget that jumps from pocket change to real money means the Navy fighter is not dead — it means someone on the Hill got scared of a capability gap. Watch the engine and the carrier fit, not the artist’s rendering.