New GE Partnership Brings Fighter-Class Propulsion to Shield AI’s Autonomous VTOL X-Bat Drone
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On November 5, 2025, GE Aerospace and Shield AI signed an MoU to equip the X-BAT autonomous VTOL fighter with GE’s F110-GE-129 engine and thrust-vectoring nozzle. The collaboration aims to deliver fighter-grade thrust with vertical agility, streamlining deployment and logistics for F110-operating allies.
On November 5, 2025, GE Aerospace and Shield AI announced that the X-BAT autonomous VTOL fighter will be equipped with GE’s F110-GE-129 turbofan, aligning an unmanned wingman with the powerplant used across frontline U.S. and allied fighters. The pairing fuses fighter-class thrust with thrust-vectoring for vertical operations, signaling a push to field combat-credible mass without runway dependence. The agreement was disclosed as a Memorandum of Understanding, with GE to support propulsion integration and testing, as reported by Shield AI and GE Aerospace.
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Shield AI’s X-BAT will be powered by GE’s F110-GE-129 engine with thrust-vectoring, delivering fighter-class performance and vertical takeoff agility (Picture Source: Shield AI/GE Aerospace)
Under the collaboration, X-BAT adopts the F110-GE-129 fitted with GE’s Axisymmetric Vectoring Exhaust Nozzle (AVEN), enabling vectored thrust for vertical lift and enhanced agility in forward flight. GE will provide propulsion and testing support to accelerate the program from concept toward capability, a noteworthy step given the maturity of the F110 line and its long production pedigree.
Unveiled in Washington, D.C., on October 21, X-BAT is positioned by Shield AI as an AI-piloted, runway-independent fighter capable of operating alone or as a drone wingman under the company’s Hivemind autonomy. Army Recognition’s coverage emphasized the design’s focus on dispersed operations, survivability and multi-mission flexibility, while broader reporting framed the aircraft squarely within the Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) wingman paradigm.
Selecting the F110 brings well-documented performance and logistics benefits. GE cites more than 11 million flight hours and four decades of continuous production and improvement for the F110 family. The -129 variant delivers a thrust class around 29,000 lbf and is already qualified on the F-16C/D, F-15 variants and Japan’s F-2, an installed base that eases sustainment, parts commonality and global supportability. The AVEN nozzle chosen for X-BAT adds 3-D thrust vectoring, a capability proven in F-16 testbeds, now repurposed to enable VTOL and tight-envelope control in an autonomous air vehicle.
The F110 lineage also extends to fifth-generation development programs: Türkiye’s KAAN prototypes fly with twin F110-GE-129s pending an indigenous engine, underscoring the type’s relevance at the high end of combat aviation and reinforcing the industrial and geopolitical reach of GE’s supply chain. This breadth, from legacy F-15/F-16 fleets to cutting-edge prototypes, illustrates why adopting F110 for X-BAT can compress risk while preserving fighter-level performance margins.
Strategically, the move marries a proven, exportable propulsion core to an AI-piloted, runway-independent airframe, creating a pathway for allied forces to field scalable “combat mass” alongside crewed fighters without standing up new engine ecosystems. Common propulsion with F-15s and F-16s can streamline training, spares and depot work across partner inventories, while thrust-vectoring VTOL widens basing options in contested theaters, an operational advantage for Indo-Pacific island chains, Eastern European forward strips, or any environment where runways are vulnerable. At the geopolitical level, a U.S. engine inside an AI-enabled wingman will inevitably intersect with export-control debates, but it also offers a fast-track for allies already operating F110 fleets to adopt unmanned teammates under the CCA playbook.
Shield AI’s decision to anchor X-BAT on the F110 signals intent to field an unmanned wingman with the thrust, maneuverability and sustainment backbone of a frontline fighter, yet freed from runway dependence. If integration proceeds as planned, this pairing could accelerate how air forces generate dispersed, survivable combat power at scale, turning mature propulsion into a force multiplier for autonomous air combat.
Written by Teoman S. Nicanci – Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group
Teoman S. Nicanci holds degrees in Political Science, Comparative and International Politics, and International Relations and Diplomacy from leading Belgian universities, with research focused on Russian strategic behavior, defense technology, and modern warfare. He is a defense analyst at Army Recognition, specializing in the global defense industry, military armament, and emerging defense technologies.
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On November 5, 2025, GE Aerospace and Shield AI signed an MoU to equip the X-BAT autonomous VTOL fighter with GE’s F110-GE-129 engine and thrust-vectoring nozzle. The collaboration aims to deliver fighter-grade thrust with vertical agility, streamlining deployment and logistics for F110-operating allies.
On November 5, 2025, GE Aerospace and Shield AI announced that the X-BAT autonomous VTOL fighter will be equipped with GE’s F110-GE-129 turbofan, aligning an unmanned wingman with the powerplant used across frontline U.S. and allied fighters. The pairing fuses fighter-class thrust with thrust-vectoring for vertical operations, signaling a push to field combat-credible mass without runway dependence. The agreement was disclosed as a Memorandum of Understanding, with GE to support propulsion integration and testing, as reported by Shield AI and GE Aerospace.
Shield AI’s X-BAT will be powered by GE’s F110-GE-129 engine with thrust-vectoring, delivering fighter-class performance and vertical takeoff agility (Picture Source: Shield AI/GE Aerospace)
Under the collaboration, X-BAT adopts the F110-GE-129 fitted with GE’s Axisymmetric Vectoring Exhaust Nozzle (AVEN), enabling vectored thrust for vertical lift and enhanced agility in forward flight. GE will provide propulsion and testing support to accelerate the program from concept toward capability, a noteworthy step given the maturity of the F110 line and its long production pedigree.
Unveiled in Washington, D.C., on October 21, X-BAT is positioned by Shield AI as an AI-piloted, runway-independent fighter capable of operating alone or as a drone wingman under the company’s Hivemind autonomy. Army Recognition’s coverage emphasized the design’s focus on dispersed operations, survivability and multi-mission flexibility, while broader reporting framed the aircraft squarely within the Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) wingman paradigm.
Selecting the F110 brings well-documented performance and logistics benefits. GE cites more than 11 million flight hours and four decades of continuous production and improvement for the F110 family. The -129 variant delivers a thrust class around 29,000 lbf and is already qualified on the F-16C/D, F-15 variants and Japan’s F-2, an installed base that eases sustainment, parts commonality and global supportability. The AVEN nozzle chosen for X-BAT adds 3-D thrust vectoring, a capability proven in F-16 testbeds, now repurposed to enable VTOL and tight-envelope control in an autonomous air vehicle.
The F110 lineage also extends to fifth-generation development programs: Türkiye’s KAAN prototypes fly with twin F110-GE-129s pending an indigenous engine, underscoring the type’s relevance at the high end of combat aviation and reinforcing the industrial and geopolitical reach of GE’s supply chain. This breadth, from legacy F-15/F-16 fleets to cutting-edge prototypes, illustrates why adopting F110 for X-BAT can compress risk while preserving fighter-level performance margins.
Strategically, the move marries a proven, exportable propulsion core to an AI-piloted, runway-independent airframe, creating a pathway for allied forces to field scalable “combat mass” alongside crewed fighters without standing up new engine ecosystems. Common propulsion with F-15s and F-16s can streamline training, spares and depot work across partner inventories, while thrust-vectoring VTOL widens basing options in contested theaters, an operational advantage for Indo-Pacific island chains, Eastern European forward strips, or any environment where runways are vulnerable. At the geopolitical level, a U.S. engine inside an AI-enabled wingman will inevitably intersect with export-control debates, but it also offers a fast-track for allies already operating F110 fleets to adopt unmanned teammates under the CCA playbook.
Shield AI’s decision to anchor X-BAT on the F110 signals intent to field an unmanned wingman with the thrust, maneuverability and sustainment backbone of a frontline fighter, yet freed from runway dependence. If integration proceeds as planned, this pairing could accelerate how air forces generate dispersed, survivable combat power at scale, turning mature propulsion into a force multiplier for autonomous air combat.
Written by Teoman S. Nicanci – Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group
Teoman S. Nicanci holds degrees in Political Science, Comparative and International Politics, and International Relations and Diplomacy from leading Belgian universities, with research focused on Russian strategic behavior, defense technology, and modern warfare. He is a defense analyst at Army Recognition, specializing in the global defense industry, military armament, and emerging defense technologies.
