Shield AI has announced the selection of GE Aerospace’s F110-GE-129 turbofan engine as the powerplant for its X-BAT vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) autonomous fighter. The announcement, released on 5 November 2025, notes that the engine will be equipped with GE’s axisymmetric vectoring exhaust nozzle (AVEN). This system provides controlled thrust vectoring during VTOL operations and improves maneuverability in horizontal flight through variable geometry applied across multiple flight phases, not only during takeoff and landing.
The F110-GE-129 is a well-known powerplant used in various F-16 variants (starting with Block 50) and across the F-15 family (E, K, SA, QA, EX). The engine features a full-authority digital engine control (FADEC) system, delivers 76.3 kN of intermediate thrust, and reaches 131.2 kN with afterburner. Development of engines in this thrust class dates back to the mid-1980s, when the U.S. Air Force sought a unit producing roughly 129 kN while offering reliability and service life comparable to the F100-PW-220 and F110-GE-100. This requirement ultimately led to the Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-229 and the GE F110-GE-129.
The memorandum of understanding between Shield AI and GE Aerospace states that GE will provide powerplant and testing support for the X-BAT program. In a company statement, GE highlighted that the F110 has accumulated more than 11 million flight hours, reflecting strong performance within its class and more than 40 years of continuous production and development. Shield AI also released a video showing ground starts of the F110-GE-129; the footage captures engine ignition and nozzle expansion, ending shortly afterward.
Representatives of GE and Shield AI emphasized the mutual benefits of the partnership. Amy Gouder, President of GE Aerospace’s Defense Systems, said the company will apply its experience in powerplant development and scaling alongside Shield AI’s program work to accelerate the transition from concepts to operational capabilities. She added that the collaboration aims to rethink how advanced propulsion technologies are integrated into autonomous combat platforms. Armor Harris, Shield AI’s Senior Vice President for Aviation Engineering, described the F110 as one of the most successful and reliable fighter engines in history, capable of meeting the requirements of the VTOL X-BAT design, and expressed confidence in the potential of the joint team.
Shield AI first revealed the X-BAT on 21 October in Washington, D.C. The company describes the platform in its briefings as an AI-controlled VTOL fighter intended for demanding flight and combat conditions. Concept footage shows operations from aircraft carriers, amphibious and naval ships, cargo vessels and austere bases; deployment is said to require an area on the order of 30 × 30 metres (100 × 100 ft) and a specialised TEL (Transporter Erector Launcher). The presentation does not disclose the exact coupling mechanism used for recovery.
According to Shield AI, the X-BAT runs the company’s Hivemind software, a mature autonomy stack intended to enable scalable swarm operations in contested environments: the platform can operate fully autonomously or function as a “wingman” drone. Hivemind is reportedly being evaluated on several other autonomous aviation programmes – including the MQ-20 Avenger (GA-ASI), Model 437 Vanguard (Scaled Composites), Airbus MQ-72C and Anduril’s YFQ-44A CCA – and has recently undergone tests using BQM-117A and Airbus DT-25 targets.
The X-BAT project is presented as part of a response to the U.S. Air Force’s shortage of fourth- and 4.5-generation fighters. Shield AI and its partners position CCA aircraft not as replacements for crewed platforms, but as force-multipliers that increase the number of available airframes in future high-tech conflicts, particularly in the Western Pacific.
Earlier briefing materials emphasised that numerical strength has its own tactical value: even comparatively simple platforms, produced by regional manufacturers with stable supply chains, can help sustain prolonged operations.
The collaboration between Shield AI and GE Aerospace pairs established airframe concepts and contemporary thrust‑vectoring solutions with an aim to integrate them into a next‑generation autonomous combat platform. The programme is operating to a defined test schedule and sets out ambitious targets for operational readiness and serial production in the latter half of the 2020s.
Source: TheAviationist
