Shield AI MQ-35 V-BAT

The Shield AI MQ-35A V-BAT is an American unmanned aerial vehicle in the Group 3 class that takes off and lands vertically. It was developed by Martin UAV, which is now Shield AI. It is a tail-sitter with a single ducted fan, so it needs no runway and can be launched and recovered from ships and from small, confined land sites. Its main work is intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and targeting. Shield AI flies it with its Hivemind autonomy software, which supports navigation where satellite positioning and radio links are denied, and in 2023 the company announced swarming operation. A 2025 Block 5.3 upgrade replaced the earlier gasoline engine with a 33-horsepower heavy-fuel engine that accepts JP-5 naval fuel and raised the payload limit from 25 to 40 pounds. The type has been bought or trialled by armed forces and coast guards in the Americas, Europe and Asia, including the United States Navy and Coast Guard, Greece, Japan, the Netherlands, Romania and Ukraine, where crews have used it through Russian electronic warfare. Its listed gross weight is 75 kilograms, with a maximum speed of 90 kilometres per hour.