Shield AI cofounder teases ‘snowball’ of X-BAT fighter drone announcements in Europe

ShieldAI's first full-scale prototype of the X-Bat drone. (ShieldAI)

MUNICH — A “snowball of activities” covering European orders and regional partnership agreements for Shield AI’s X-BAT fighter jet drone are set to be announced “soon,” according to the company’s cofounder and chief strategy officer.

Speaking to Breaking Defense today on the sidelines of the International Fighter Conference, Ryan Tseng said that the prospective deals and new industry pacts will be publicized when “we’re ready to announce them.”

He declined to comment on any aircraft quantities involved in the procurements, saying just “watch this space.”

Europe “can and should be a critical component of the [X-BAT] supply chain for Europe,” he said, noting it would make the region stronger at a “warfighting” level. Additionally, a “European sovereign” supply chain, makes the US more capable, stressed Tseng.

Andrew Hawkes, X-BAT director for Europe at Shield AI, also told Breaking Defense that the company is involved in “several active” sales campaigns for the autonomous, vertical take off and landing (VTOL) aircraft across the continent, though declined to disclose any individual customers.

The planned export business builds off a number of other key, regional developments. In June, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk reportedly said that Shield AI is planning on local production of X-BAT in cooperation with Poland. More recently, the firm announced a “strategic agreement” with Greece’s GEK TERNA, a critical infrastructure investor, based around a potential collaboration on “parts production, aircraft integration and long-term sustainment for X-BAT in Greece .”

Tseng’s assessment on orders comes after the artificial intelligence startup announced on Tuesday that a first, full-scale X-BAT prototype has completed assembly in Frisco, Texas. Next steps will see the aircraft undergo testing at the company’s facility in Newton, Kan., according to a company statement. Shield AI and the US Navy are jointly investing $400 million in X-BAT. Elsewhere, Tseng said that a per-aircraft cost for the autonomous drone could be brought down to $25 million, but for a higher-end sensor configuration, customers could expect to pay an extra $10 million.

The baseline $25 million figure works out around a quarter “the cost of a Eurofighter or an F-35 in Europe,” he explained. “We think from a lifecycle perspective, it would beat it [in production fighter jets] by a factor of 10″ based on comparable maintenance costs. “You can use far less crew to operate the aircraft” resulting in “savings across the board.”

Breaking Defense Video

The defense show circuit keeps rolling, plus Jimmy Stewart goes to war

Qatar’s domestic weapons, Turkey’s drone arsenal and the Mecca pact’s next test

3 congressional races that matter for defense

How General Atomics views Europe’s unmanned future

A more flexible way to defend maneuver forces from drones that doesn’t tie them down [Sponsored]

What’s haunting the Pentagon this Halloween?

The new must-have capabilities for drones [Sponsored]

Army’s tech chief talks autonomy, acquisition and the future of drones

Drones take over AUSA, plus the Army’s plan to bring in new vendors

Hegseth talks autonomy at AUSA, a key show focus

ShieldAI 的首款全尺寸 X-Bat 无人机原型机。（ShieldAI）

慕尼黑——据该公司联合创始人兼首席战略官称，Shield AI 的 X-BAT 战斗机无人机的一系列活动，包括欧洲订单和区域合作协议，即将“很快”宣布。

在国际战斗机会议期间，瑞安·曾今天接受Breaking Defense采访时表示，潜在的交易和新的行业协议将在“我们准备好宣布时”公布。

他拒绝就采购中涉及的飞机数量发表评论，只说“敬请期待”。

他表示，欧洲“能够而且应该成为欧洲[X-BAT]供应链的关键组成部分”，并指出这将增强该地区的“作战”能力。此外，曾强调，一条“欧洲自主”的供应链也能提升美国的作战能力。

Shield AI 欧洲区 X-BAT 总监 Andrew Hawkes 也告诉 Breaking Defense，该公司正在欧洲大陆开展“多项积极的”自主垂直起降 (VTOL) 飞机销售活动，但他拒绝透露任何具体客户。

这项出口计划建立在多项其他关键区域发展的基础上。据报道，波兰总理唐纳德·图斯克在6月份表示，Shield AI计划与波兰合作在当地生产X-BAT无人机。最近，该公司宣布与希腊关键基础设施投资公司GEK TERNA达成一项“战略协议”，该协议围绕在“X-BAT无人机在希腊的零部件生产、飞机集成和长期维护”方面的潜在合作展开。

曾先生对订单的评估是在人工智能初创公司Shield AI周二宣布其首架全尺寸X-BAT原型机已在德克萨斯州弗里斯科完成组装之后做出的。根据公司声明，下一步该飞机将在位于堪萨斯州牛顿的公司工厂进行测试。Shield AI和美国海军正在联合投资4亿美元用于X-BAT项目。此外，曾先生表示，这款自主无人机的单机成本有望降至2500万美元，但如果客户需要更高端的传感器配置，则可能需要额外支付1000万美元。

他解释说，2500万美元的基准价格大约是“欧洲战斗机或F-35在欧洲售价的四分之一”。“我们认为，从全寿命周期来看，基于可比的维护成本，它（指量产型战斗机）的成本将比它们低10倍。”他还表示，“操作这种飞机所需的机组人员数量要少得多”，从而“全面节省成本”。

突破性防御视频

国防题材的巡回演出仍在继续，此外，吉米·斯图尔特也参战了。

卡塔尔的国产武器、土耳其的无人机武库以及麦加条约的下一次测试

3场对国防至关重要的国会选举

通用原子公司如何看待欧洲的无人化未来

一种更灵活的防御机动部队免受无人机攻击的方式，不会限制其行动[赞助]

今年万圣节，五角大楼究竟闹鬼？

无人机必备的新功能 [赞助内容]

陆军技术主管谈无人机的自主性、采购和未来

无人机主导了美国陆军协会（AUSA）的会议，此外，陆军还计划引入新的供应商。

Hegseth 在 AUSA 大会上谈到了自主性，这是本次大会的一个重点议题。