Colombia plans to acquire U.S. V-BAT 128 UAV to boost border surveillance and counter narcotics
{loadposition bannertop}
{loadposition sidebarpub}
During the F-Air exhibition in Colombia, on August 4, 2025, U.S.-based defense technology company Shield AI officially presented its V-BAT 128 unmanned aerial system (UAS), highlighting the platform’s readiness for deployment and its suitability for operations across Latin America’s most complex security environments. The Colombian Navy is reportedly evaluating the system for potential acquisition, with interest focused on leveraging its autonomous capabilities for maritime domain awareness, jungle surveillance, and counter-narcotics operations. The presentation marked Shield AI’s strategic entry into the Colombian and broader Latin American defense markets, as regional forces increasingly seek AI-enabled unmanned systems to modernize their operational posture.Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link
The V-BAT 128 is a VTOL drone with AI-driven autonomy, 11-hour endurance, and multi-mission capability for ISR and electronic warfare (Picture source: U.S. DoD)
The V-BAT 128 is a Group 3 tactical unmanned aerial system optimized for expeditionary ISR, electronic warfare, and multi-mission flexibility. It features a tail-sitter configuration that allows for true vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL), eliminating the need for runways, launch rails, or recovery systems. This design enables the V-BAT to operate from confined decks aboard naval vessels, rugged terrain, or narrow jungle clearings, making it highly adaptable to Colombia’s operational environment. With a maximum gross takeoff weight (GTOW) of approximately 125 pounds (56.7 kilograms), the V-BAT 128 achieves a balance between endurance, payload capacity, and portability.
Powered by a fuel-injected, single-cylinder piston engine, the UAV can maintain flight for up to 11 hours depending on payload configuration and environmental conditions. It has a line-of-sight range of more than 600 kilometers, with optional satellite communications (SATCOM) enabling beyond-line-of-sight (BLOS) operations over strategic distances. The platform supports a payload capacity of up to 25 pounds (11.3 kilograms), and its modular bay accommodates a wide range of sensors, including high-resolution EO/IR gimbals, synthetic aperture radar (SAR), wide-area motion imagery (WAMI), hyperspectral sensors, electronic intelligence (ELINT) kits, and communications relay systems.
At the core of the V-BAT 128’s autonomous functionality is Shield AI’s Hivemind software, an AI-based flight control system that enables real-time autonomous decision-making, adaptive flight routing, and collaborative mission execution among multiple UAVs. Unlike traditional UAS platforms that rely heavily on human-in-the-loop control, Hivemind allows the V-BAT 128 to operate with minimal operator input, navigate GPS-denied environments using onboard visual-inertial odometry, and dynamically adjust mission parameters based on evolving battlefield conditions. This autonomy is crucial in high-threat zones where EW jamming, terrain masking, or satellite degradation can disrupt conventional UAV control links.
During the exhibition, Shield AI representatives emphasized the platform’s successful deployment history with U.S. Navy expeditionary units, U.S. Marine Corps reconnaissance forces, and Special Operations Command (SOCOM). In these roles, the V-BAT 128 has performed ISR overwatch, precision targeting support, comms bridging, and mission-critical battlefield assessments. Its ruggedized ground control station (GCS), designed for rapid setup and intuitive use, enables two-person crews to operate the system with full payload control, live sensor feed exploitation, and on-the-fly mission replanning. The UAV also features fault-tolerant systems and failsafe protocols for autonomous recovery in case of signal loss or component failure.
The Colombian Navy’s assessment of the V-BAT 128 aligns with its current efforts to integrate Western defense technologies that enhance force modernization, improve multi-domain awareness, and reduce dependency on legacy platforms. In 2024, the Colombian Ministry of Defense outlined a revised ISR doctrine emphasizing rapid intelligence exploitation, flexible deployment assets, and operational autonomy in high-risk zones. The Navy in particular is looking to expand its maritime ISR coverage for anti-smuggling operations, monitor EEZ violations, and support amphibious force deployments along rivers and coastlines.
If selected, the V-BAT 128 would represent a leap in Colombia’s unmanned capability, potentially becoming one of the most advanced operational UAVs in service in Latin America. The system’s ability to support ISR, EW, SIGINT, comms relay, and maritime interdiction missions in a single, rapidly deployable platform positions it as a force multiplier in both conventional and asymmetric conflict scenarios. Its VTOL capability also opens up future integration with uncrewed surface vessels (USVs) and mobile command centers, expanding Colombia’s ISR network into a multi-domain sensor web.
Colombia’s interest in acquiring next-generation UAV platforms like the V-BAT 128 stems from enduring internal and transnational security threats. Decades-long conflicts with guerrilla factions, such as the National Liberation Army (ELN), combined with the powerful presence of organized narcotics trafficking networks, have created persistent security challenges across Colombia’s expansive territory. Key corridors used by drug cartels run through dense Amazonian jungle, remote river systems, and unmonitored maritime zones in both the Pacific and Caribbean regions. Traditional manned ISR platforms face operational limitations in these areas due to cost, risk exposure, and environmental constraints. Colombia’s defense strategy has therefore shifted toward modular, AI-enhanced unmanned systems capable of delivering continuous surveillance, autonomous navigation, and long-endurance coverage with minimal logistical demand. UAVs like the V-BAT 128 present an effective solution to fill ISR gaps in inaccessible areas while reducing reliance on manpower-intensive patrols.
Discussions are reportedly underway between Shield AI and Colombian defense procurement officials regarding a potential series of evaluation trials and limited field deployments beginning in late 2025. These tests may involve deployment from Colombian Navy offshore patrol vessels (OPVs), Amazon riverine patrol posts, and forward-deployed jungle outposts. Shield AI has indicated its willingness to customize payloads and communications configurations to meet Colombian mission profiles and compliance requirements.
Colombia navigates its strategic pivot toward autonomous warfare systems, the potential adoption of the V-BAT 128 may mark a significant milestone in regional unmanned aerial capabilities and the growing influence of U.S.-based AI defense technologies in Latin American defense modernization programs.
{loadposition bannertop}
{loadposition sidebarpub}
During the F-Air exhibition in Colombia, on August 4, 2025, U.S.-based defense technology company Shield AI officially presented its V-BAT 128 unmanned aerial system (UAS), highlighting the platform’s readiness for deployment and its suitability for operations across Latin America’s most complex security environments. The Colombian Navy is reportedly evaluating the system for potential acquisition, with interest focused on leveraging its autonomous capabilities for maritime domain awareness, jungle surveillance, and counter-narcotics operations. The presentation marked Shield AI’s strategic entry into the Colombian and broader Latin American defense markets, as regional forces increasingly seek AI-enabled unmanned systems to modernize their operational posture.
Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link
The V-BAT 128 is a VTOL drone with AI-driven autonomy, 11-hour endurance, and multi-mission capability for ISR and electronic warfare (Picture source: U.S. DoD)
The V-BAT 128 is a Group 3 tactical unmanned aerial system optimized for expeditionary ISR, electronic warfare, and multi-mission flexibility. It features a tail-sitter configuration that allows for true vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL), eliminating the need for runways, launch rails, or recovery systems. This design enables the V-BAT to operate from confined decks aboard naval vessels, rugged terrain, or narrow jungle clearings, making it highly adaptable to Colombia’s operational environment. With a maximum gross takeoff weight (GTOW) of approximately 125 pounds (56.7 kilograms), the V-BAT 128 achieves a balance between endurance, payload capacity, and portability.
Powered by a fuel-injected, single-cylinder piston engine, the UAV can maintain flight for up to 11 hours depending on payload configuration and environmental conditions. It has a line-of-sight range of more than 600 kilometers, with optional satellite communications (SATCOM) enabling beyond-line-of-sight (BLOS) operations over strategic distances. The platform supports a payload capacity of up to 25 pounds (11.3 kilograms), and its modular bay accommodates a wide range of sensors, including high-resolution EO/IR gimbals, synthetic aperture radar (SAR), wide-area motion imagery (WAMI), hyperspectral sensors, electronic intelligence (ELINT) kits, and communications relay systems.
At the core of the V-BAT 128’s autonomous functionality is Shield AI’s Hivemind software, an AI-based flight control system that enables real-time autonomous decision-making, adaptive flight routing, and collaborative mission execution among multiple UAVs. Unlike traditional UAS platforms that rely heavily on human-in-the-loop control, Hivemind allows the V-BAT 128 to operate with minimal operator input, navigate GPS-denied environments using onboard visual-inertial odometry, and dynamically adjust mission parameters based on evolving battlefield conditions. This autonomy is crucial in high-threat zones where EW jamming, terrain masking, or satellite degradation can disrupt conventional UAV control links.
During the exhibition, Shield AI representatives emphasized the platform’s successful deployment history with U.S. Navy expeditionary units, U.S. Marine Corps reconnaissance forces, and Special Operations Command (SOCOM). In these roles, the V-BAT 128 has performed ISR overwatch, precision targeting support, comms bridging, and mission-critical battlefield assessments. Its ruggedized ground control station (GCS), designed for rapid setup and intuitive use, enables two-person crews to operate the system with full payload control, live sensor feed exploitation, and on-the-fly mission replanning. The UAV also features fault-tolerant systems and failsafe protocols for autonomous recovery in case of signal loss or component failure.
The Colombian Navy’s assessment of the V-BAT 128 aligns with its current efforts to integrate Western defense technologies that enhance force modernization, improve multi-domain awareness, and reduce dependency on legacy platforms. In 2024, the Colombian Ministry of Defense outlined a revised ISR doctrine emphasizing rapid intelligence exploitation, flexible deployment assets, and operational autonomy in high-risk zones. The Navy in particular is looking to expand its maritime ISR coverage for anti-smuggling operations, monitor EEZ violations, and support amphibious force deployments along rivers and coastlines.
If selected, the V-BAT 128 would represent a leap in Colombia’s unmanned capability, potentially becoming one of the most advanced operational UAVs in service in Latin America. The system’s ability to support ISR, EW, SIGINT, comms relay, and maritime interdiction missions in a single, rapidly deployable platform positions it as a force multiplier in both conventional and asymmetric conflict scenarios. Its VTOL capability also opens up future integration with uncrewed surface vessels (USVs) and mobile command centers, expanding Colombia’s ISR network into a multi-domain sensor web.
Colombia’s interest in acquiring next-generation UAV platforms like the V-BAT 128 stems from enduring internal and transnational security threats. Decades-long conflicts with guerrilla factions, such as the National Liberation Army (ELN), combined with the powerful presence of organized narcotics trafficking networks, have created persistent security challenges across Colombia’s expansive territory. Key corridors used by drug cartels run through dense Amazonian jungle, remote river systems, and unmonitored maritime zones in both the Pacific and Caribbean regions. Traditional manned ISR platforms face operational limitations in these areas due to cost, risk exposure, and environmental constraints. Colombia’s defense strategy has therefore shifted toward modular, AI-enhanced unmanned systems capable of delivering continuous surveillance, autonomous navigation, and long-endurance coverage with minimal logistical demand. UAVs like the V-BAT 128 present an effective solution to fill ISR gaps in inaccessible areas while reducing reliance on manpower-intensive patrols.
Discussions are reportedly underway between Shield AI and Colombian defense procurement officials regarding a potential series of evaluation trials and limited field deployments beginning in late 2025. These tests may involve deployment from Colombian Navy offshore patrol vessels (OPVs), Amazon riverine patrol posts, and forward-deployed jungle outposts. Shield AI has indicated its willingness to customize payloads and communications configurations to meet Colombian mission profiles and compliance requirements.
Colombia navigates its strategic pivot toward autonomous warfare systems, the potential adoption of the V-BAT 128 may mark a significant milestone in regional unmanned aerial capabilities and the growing influence of U.S.-based AI defense technologies in Latin American defense modernization programs.
