V-BATs were initially tested in Ukraine in June 2024 to evaluate how they performed in the face of just this kind of enemy interference. According to a Ukrainian report the V-BATs were able to operate unhindered, even when they flew very close to Ukrainian jamming systems. A follow-up battlefield experiment in Ukraine in August saw V-BATs locate\u00a0Russian surface-to-air missile<\/a>\u00a0(SAM) batteries before relaying targeting data back to Ukrainian forces so that M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems,\u00a0or HiMARS<\/a>, could\u00a0attack and destroy the SAM sites<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Ukraine experiments clearly demonstrated how V-BAT is able to operate in a highly complex modern battlespace, with its embedded artificial intelligence working hand-in-hand with its suite of onboard sensors. As a package, the V-BAT offers a relatively low-cost unmanned aerial system (UAS) capability with significant endurance that can take off and land nearly anywhere and can operate in cooperative swarms to tackle complex missions. These include intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) and targeting tasks in higher-threat environments.<\/p>\n Armor Harris is\u00a0Shield AI\u2019s<\/a> vice president of aircraft engineering, where he leads the development of V-BAT. Harris came to Shield AI from SpaceX, where he was the responsible engineer for developing the propulsive landing capability on Falcon 9 and was also head engineer for the Starlink satellite constellation.<\/p>\n \u201cIn Ukraine, there has been a massive emphasis on a fourth-generation fighter capability in the\u00a0form of the F-16<\/a>, yet F-16s can\u2019t get anywhere close to the front-line because of the surface-to air-missile [SAM] systems that are prevalent here,\u201d Harris says.<\/p>\n \u201cV-BAT is able to operate without GPS in a hostile communications-jamming environment. It can fly into an area, locate and identify targets, and fly missions way out ahead of fighter aircraft. Historically, the\u00a0suppression of enemy air defense<\/a>\u00a0[SEAD] mission has been considered to be a role for fighter aircraft, but now we\u2019ve proved in Ukraine that a V-BAT in the danger zone can team with a stand-off weapon such as\u00a0HiMARS<\/a>\u00a0to execute the mission, which is a very effective strategy.\u201d<\/p>\n The V-BAT\u2019s ability to persist in areas where GPS isn\u2019t reliable is a key part of its effectiveness, according to Harris. \u201cPart of being able to fly without GPS is about knowing where you are without GPS. If you\u2019re able to do that, you just need to refine that position estimate enough to generate target quality grids and tracks, and then pass that data back. V-BAT has a navigation system that doesn\u2019t require GPS, and a communications system that\u2019s able to operate in that highly jammed environment. We\u2019ve put it up against the best jammers that Russia has, and it\u2019s been able to take those head-on.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe see a lot of small,\u00a0one-way attack drones<\/a>\u00a0in Ukraine, but what makes V-BAT unique is that there\u2019s nothing else in the theater that is comparable in its size category, that can be driven around in a truck, can launch vertically from pretty much anywhere, and carry sensors that are comparable with those carried on much larger aircraft.\u201d<\/p>\n The small drone with big missions<\/strong><\/p>\n Technological advances mean that mission payloads are shrinking in size. What 40 years ago may have required a\u00a0U-2 Dragon Lady<\/a>, or 20 years ago may have needed a large UAS to carry them, can today be accommodated by a drone as small as the 9-feet-long V-BAT. \u201cFrom a sensor standpoint, there\u2019s a wide variety of electro-optical and infrared sensors that are carried in the nose of the V-BAT,\u201d explains Harris. \u201cWe can carry a couple of different models of Synthetic Aperture Radar [SAR] on the belly of the aircraft and a SIGINT [signals intelligence] payload that can be carried with antennas distributed across the aircraft. We also carry a wide area visual camera search system known as Visual Detection and Ranging, or ViDAR.\u201d You can read more about\u00a0Shield AI\u2019s ViDAR system here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Shield AI has also developed a sensor payload known as\u00a0Sentient Tracker<\/a>, which combines artificial intelligence with Shield AI\u2019s (formerly Sentient Vision Systems) moving target indicator. Its AI-enabled tracking allows operators to automatically detect moving objects within electro-optical (EO) or infrared (IR) full-motion video.<\/p>\n \u201cDuring a recent demonstration, the\u00a0Shield AI team<\/a>\u00a0performed a search over an area twice the size of Dallas, in about 90 minutes,\u201d explains Harris. That demonstration enabled us to get an image file of every person and every single vehicle in that entire area. Comparing that to a moving target indicator radar image, for example, where you get loads of little dots on a map, with our system you get an actual image.\u201d<\/p>\n The camera array on the V-BAT feeds raw data into a processing algorithm that\u2019s running onboard. \u201cThe AI software\u00a0sifts that data and downloads pertinent information<\/a>\u00a0to the ground station, along with the coordinates,\u201d says Harris. This means there\u2019s no requirement to transmit five different feeds of 8K video that would blow your bandwidth, you\u2019re just sending the things you really need to see. For example, you might see a vehicle driving down a street and with this system you have the resolution to decide if it\u2019s weaponized or not.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhile the V-BAT carries a smaller camera than some of the bigger platforms, and therefore it can\u2019t see as far, V-BAT is a one-million-dollar-class aircraft, so you can afford to procure and operate many more of them. Now you have a swarming team of four V-BATs monitoring that same area, which is a very powerful tool.\u201d<\/p>\n The V-BAT\u2019s weapons capabilities elevate it from a versatile uncrewed aircraft system (UAS) to a powerful tactical asset. For example, in May 2023 during the U.S. Army Futures Command\u2019s EDGE exercise, V-BAT successfully delivered a live glide munition\u00a0known as Hatchet<\/a>, a miniature precision strike weapon with GPS and laser guidance. This showcased its potential to deliver kinetic payloads with precision and efficiency. Configured with a \u201cbelly bay\u201d for payload delivery, and with a new generation of V-BAT being equipped with wing hardpoints for external payload carriage, the V-BAT offers the flexibility to serve as a long-range, reusable loitering munition capability, further enhancing its battlefield utility.<\/p>\n Superiority through mass<\/strong><\/p>\n Intelligent\u00a0teams of drones<\/a>\u00a0are being developed to tackle a range of modern-day missions. A team of V-BATs not only offers a versatile range of mission roles, but also adds a level of survivability.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are three basic methods that we consider relevant in terms of survivability in a contested environment,\u201d Harris explains. \u201cThe first is to be faster than everybody else, which is what the\u00a0SR-71 Blackbird<\/a>\u00a0did \u2013\u00a0it could outrun the interceptors. The west has also invested heavily in stealth designs to avoid a platform being targeted by radar, but that has resulted in platforms becoming dramatically more expensive over time. The third way, and part of the rationale behind V-BAT, is to be more numerous than your opponent.\u201d<\/p>\n Harris says if you can beat the cost curve, you can operate greater numbers of platforms, and therefore potentially operate in a denied environment just as effectively as the exquisite platforms. \u201cWe\u2019ve seen genuine realization that you can in many instances achieve the mission of a multimillion-dollar-class super exquisite aircraft with a team of much cheaper, more numerous, drones. Sure, some of them might get shot down, but those that survive will be able to complete the mission. There\u2019s also the matter of getting them to where you need to launch them. V-BAT doesn\u2019t require a huge airfield and doesn\u2019t need a complex refueling operation to get to where it needs to be.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIn the Cold War it was all about mass. Then it evolved to be about exquisite capabilities. Now, the technology has evolved again, and we are right back at mass again, and that\u2019s really been enabled by autonomy. The fundamental limiters were cost and the number of trained pilots, and not wanting to put those highly trained pilots at risk. Today, with the ability to operate autonomous aircraft, it unlocks mass once again.\u201d<\/p>\n V-BAT on the rise<\/strong><\/p>\n Shield AI has delivered about 250 V-BATs to date, which are in service with a range of operators in the U.S. and around the world. In some cases they have replaced legacy unmanned intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) platforms of various sizes, and in others they have been used to establish completely new drone programs for customers.<\/p>\n U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) and the U.S. Marine Corps have now been joined by the U.S. Coast Guard as a third domestic V-BAT operator. \u201cWe will start flying with the Coast Guard in 2025,\u201d says Harris. \u201cOperators are realizing that V-BAT is quite unique. It can do much of what\u00a0an MQ-4<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0MQ-9 can do<\/a>, but they can launch it anywhere and carry it around on the back of a truck or on a ship.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDuring the recent operations in the Persian Gulf, the U.S. Navy has been launching\u00a0waves of fighter aircraft<\/a>, burning a lot of gas, operating fully loaded and waiting for Houthi targets to appear. They\u2019ve been bottlenecked by the ability to find, fix, and engage these fleeting targets quickly, because they\u2019re up against a smart adversary. The Houthis are popping up, launching, and quickly going back into hiding. You actually need a persistent, wide area search capability to pinpoint these kinds of targets fast.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.fie.undef.edu.ar\/ceptm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/image-1-blurred-all-screen-1009x1024.webp\")
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