US Navy bets another $150M on fighter drone that skips the runway

American defense biz Shield AI says combined US government funding and its own investment commitments have reached $400 million to advance its autonomous vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) fighter drone toward flight testing. The X-BAT aircraft was unveiled at an event in Washington DC last year for an audience of military leaders. According to Shield AI, the US Navy has committed an additional $150 million on top of earlier funding for the project. The company is stumping up a further $150 million of its own capital, and previously secured $50 million under the Runway Independent Maritime Expeditionary Strike (RIMES) program, which it had also matched. X-BAT is scheduled to begin flight testing later this year, with "mission capability" slated for 2028. It is intended to provide naval commanders with long-range strike assets capable of taking off and landing vertically from almost anywhere, doing away with the need for a runway. …