“Shield’s V-BAT has AI software, sensors and Nvidia chips on board. That technology enables the drone to maneuver itself, survey battlefields and identify targets without a remote pilot or GPS. It can fly for 12 hours or 600 miles and carry 25 pounds of explosives to drop on targets. “
“At a testing range west of Kyiv, the V-BAT was put through two days of intensive electronic-warfare tests—seven jammers running at full blast to try to down the aircraft. The V-BAT kept flying, according to the Ukrainian testers and a Ukrainian military document.
The V-BAT was later tested during a Ukrainian operation near Dnipro, southeast of Kyiv and close to the front line. It flew more than 60 miles and deep into Russian-controlled territory through airspace so jammed that GPS and most radios wouldn’t work. The drone spotted a Russian surface-to-air missile system and alerted the Ukrainians, who hit it with a rocket, Tseng said.
“It feels like a good drone for battle,” said a Ukrainian drone pilot who tested the V-BAT and goes by the call sign Kord. “A lot of the drones don’t pass this test because they don’t have the capabilities.””