Indian Army to acquire V-BAT UAVs

Shield AI has been contracted to supply an undisclosed number of units of its V-BAT UAV to the Indian Army. (Shield AI)

The Indian Army has awarded a contract to California-based Shield AI to procure an undisclosed number of units of the company's V-BAT vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).

Under the contract, Shield AI will also supply licenses for its Hivemind autonomy software, which will be integrated into the V-BATs, the company announced on 28 January.

A Shield AI spokesperson told Janes on 29 January, “Hivemind is designed to support operations in complex, dynamic environments where conditions change quickly and communications can be limited or unreliable.”

“For the Indian Army, that means enabling autonomous systems to support missions such as reconnaissance, surveillance, logistics, and force protection by allowing platforms to adapt in real time, manage uncertainty, and reduce cognitive and operational burden on soldiers,” the spokesperson added.

“Beyond any single platform, Hivemind's value is in enabling India to build, test, and evolve mission autonomy on its own terms. Through the Hivemind Software Development Kit (SDK), also known as Hivemind Enterprise, Indian engineers and operators can develop autonomy tailored to India's terrain, operational concepts, and security needs, supporting greater self-reliance and a scalable foundation for integrating autonomy across current and future systems,” the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson declined to provide additional details regarding the contract.