US aerospace firm Shield AI has begun training Ukrainian military personnel on its V-BAT vertical take-off and landing drone, which resists Russian electronic warfare.
The V-BAT has been deployed in the Ukraine war since August last year, helping Ukrainian forces with intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, and targeting missions.
To enhance its operations, the San Diego-based firm has opened an office in Kyiv, consisting of a dedicated team of engineers, mission operations personnel, and technical specialists.
The team is working with Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces, which is the world’s first dedicated military branch that employs unmanned platforms across air, land, surface, and underwater.
“The presence of Shield AI’s team in Ukraine is a critical step in enhancing our operational capabilities,” a senior commander from Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces Training Group said.
“Their efforts are ensuring that our forces are well-prepared to meet the challenges of the frontline environment.”
V-BAT in Ukraine
The V-BAT drone is equipped with a navigation system that does not require GPS and a communication system that can resist electronic jamming.
Additionally, it has an endurance of 10 hours and a range of 300 miles (483 kilometers), which allows long-range missions.
During one such mission in August, a V-BAT flew 140 kilometers (87 miles) across the frontline, located a Russian surface-to-air missile battery, and relayed the targeting data back to an M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS.
The operation was executed while GPS and communication were jammed.
It has also been deployed in maritime operations in the Black Sea, demonstrating its versatility across multiple domains.
Unique Features
Ukraine has some drones that can resist electronic warfare. However, they lack the ability to relay back targeting data for kinetic response.
The 125-pound (57-kilogram) V-BAT packs sensors comparable to a manned aircraft and can be carried on a small truck for rapid deployment.
Moreover, it doesn’t require a runway to take off from and land and can be launched vertically from pretty much any surface.
“V-BAT is the most cost-effective, strategic targeting drone there is,” Shield AI’s President, Co-Founder, and former Navy SEAL Brandon Tseng said.
“It doesn’t require a runway, which everybody knows are large, stationary, first-strike missile sponges that will be destroyed on day one of any conflict.
“Drones are not the future of warfare; they are how warfare is waged today. It’s just that much of the world is behind and still allocating resources to expensive, vulnerable systems that don’t stand a chance on the battlefield. Our adversaries laugh behind closed doors when we spend tens of millions on legacy systems that get shot out of the sky by $1 million missiles.”