US Navy Invests in Autonomous Strike Drones for Destroyer Platforms

The U.S. Navy announced a joint investment of $50 million by its Rapid Capabilities Office, PAE Aviation, and the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU). This investment aims to expand unmanned, runway-independent naval strike capabilities, centered around Shield AI's X-BAT drone. This funding falls under the Runway-Independent Maritime Experimental Strike (RIMES) program, launched by the DIU and the U.S. Navy last February. The program seeks to develop an attack drone capable of operating from surface warships that lack dedicated flight decks, catapults, or the complex landing systems required by traditional carrier-based aircraft. Although Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, with 74 vessels currently in service in the U.S. fleet, can accommodate helicopters, they lack the ability to launch fixed-wing attack aircraft. This program aims to bridge that operational gap. This investment builds upon existing risk reduction efforts led by PAE Aviation's Rapid Aviation Capabilities unit, in collaboration with Shield AI. The X-BAT is a jet-powered aircraft with vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) capabilities, first unveiled by Shield AI in October 2025. It boasts a range exceeding 3,700 kilometers with a full payload, an altitude ceiling of over 15,240 meters, and a wingspan of approximately 11.9 meters. The X-BAT is designed for versatile multi-mission capabilities, including air strike, electronic warfare, and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) tasks. Its autonomous Hivemind software allows it to operate effectively even in environments with absent or degraded communications. During the aircraft's unveiling, Brandon Tseng, co-founder and president of Shield AI, stated that "air power without runways gives our forces resilience, reach, and survivability, and gives us another opportunity for diplomacy." Shield AI indicated that the X-BAT will initially operate with a GE Aerospace F110-GE-129 engine, targeting 2026 for its first test flight. The company already supplies its smaller V-BAT drone to the U.S. Navy and other services, having completed over 170 sorties in Ukraine and supporting a nearly $200 million contract with the Coast Guard for contractor-owned ISR services. The $50 million RIMES program investment did not disclose a specific timeline for X-BAT's flight testing or deployment aboard U.S. Navy destroyers. The Navy also did not specify the expected number of aircraft the program intends to acquire.