The F110-GE-129 afterburning turbofan will be equipped with the Axisymmetric Vectoring Exhaust Nozzle to provide thrust vectoring during VTOL operations and flight.
Shield AI announced on Nov. 5, 2025 it has selected GE Aerospace’s F110-GE-129 engine as the powerplant for its X-BAT AI (Artificial Intelligence)-powered VTOL (Vertical Take-Off Landing) fighter. Additionally, Shield AI says the engine will also feature GE’s Axisymmetric Vectoring Exhaust Nozzle (AVEN) to provide the required thrust vectoring on the vertical flight.
The F110-GE-129 powers the F-16 from the Block 50 onward, the F-15E Strike Eagle, the F-15K Slam Eagle, the F-15SA, the F-15QA and the F-15EX. The engine is Full Authority Digital Engine Control (FADEC)-capable, with an intermediate thrust of 76.3 kN and full afterburner thrust of 131.2 kN.
Shield AI + @GE_Aerospace: X-BAT hauls ass and sips gas.
The F110-GE-129 engine, featuring GE’s Axisymmetric Vectoring Exhaust Nozzle (AVEN), has been selected to propel X-BAT, Shield AI’s AI-piloted VTOL fighter jet. With more than 11 million flight hours, the F110 delivers the… pic.twitter.com/CHRWm1erXl
— Shield AI (@shieldaitech) November 5, 2025
The development began in the mid-1980s when the Air Force needed an engine to produce a thrust in the 129 kN class, while retaining the durability and reliability of the F100-PW-220 and F110-GE-100 engines. The work resulted in the birth of the Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-229 and the GE F110-GE-129.
F110-GE-129 for X-BAT
The joint statement said that the F110-GE-129 equipped with AVEN will propel the X-BAT AI-powered VTOL fighter jet. “With more than 11 million flight hours, the F110 delivers the most thrust in its class and reflects 40 years of continuous production and improvement, pairing proven performance with Shield AI’s advanced autonomy and innovative aircraft design,” the company said on X.
The MoU signed between Shield AI and GE Aerospace will involve the latter providing “propulsion and testing support for the X-BAT program.” Shield AI also released a video showing a ground test of the F110-GE-129, but the video ends just after the engine starts and the nozzle expands.
X-BAT represents a new era of airpower.
“What it does is it basically brings the capability of something like an F-35 or a comparable fifth-gen [fighter], puts it in a vertical takeoff and landing package, and then delivers it at a tenth of the cost, life-cycle[-wise] of a… pic.twitter.com/ML3bJ6RkYK
— Shield AI (@shieldaitech) October 22, 2025
“The Axisymmetric Vectoring Exhaust Nozzle (AVEN) for X-BAT provides thrust vectoring capability for vertical flight and enhances maneuverability in horizontal flight,” the statement said. AVEN’s variable geometry is thus used during various stages of flight, and not only during VTOL operations.
The world’s first AI-piloted VTOL fighter jet.
Autonomy for the world. The greatest victory requires no war.#XBAT #Autonomy #Airpower pic.twitter.com/4VGJw5i6ft
— Shield AI (@shieldaitech) October 24, 2025
GE Aerospace’s President and CEO of Defense Systems Amy Gowder said they will use “GE Aerospace’s proven experience in developing and scaling propulsion systems with Shield AI’s vehicle development to move faster from concept to capability.” Furthermore, Gowder said “Together, we’re helping redefine how advanced propulsion technologies are integrated into autonomous systems built for the mission. Collaborating with Shield AI underscores GE Aerospace’s commitment to advancing propulsion for next-generation autonomous systems.”
Shield AI’s Senior Vice President of Aircraft Engineering Armor Harris said: “GE Aerospace’s F110 engine is one of the most successful and reliable fighter engines in history and has the operability characteristics that X-BAT’s VTOL design demands. GE Aerospace has been a great partner, and we are excited by the potential of our combined team.”
Create endless dilemmas for adversaries.
Autonomy for the world. The greatest victory requires no war. #XBAT #Autonomy #Airpower pic.twitter.com/NrSipVa8Sh
— Shield AI (@shieldaitech) October 27, 2025
X-BAT
Shield AI unveiled the X-BAT on Oct. 21 in Washington, D.C., and describes it as an “AI-piloted vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) fighter jet by Shield AI engineered for contested and austere environments.” X-BAT has been shown in the concept video to be able to operate off aircraft carriers, amphibious assault ships, warships, cargo ships and unimproved austere land bases, needing only a 100 ft x 100 ft space and a specialized TEL (Transporter Erector Launcher), with an unidentified docking mechanism for landing.
“Powered by Shield AI’s proven Hivemind autonomy software, X-BAT delivers scalable, survivable combat mass in contested environments and can operate independently or as a drone wingman,” the company said. The software is currently being tested on a series of other developmental autonomous air combat projects, including GA-ASI’s MQ-20 Avenger, Scaled Composites’ Model 437 Vanguard, the Airbus MQ-72C, Anduril’s YFQ-44A CCA, and was recently also tested on the BQM-117A and Airbus DT-25 target drones.
The requirement suits the present acute need in the U.S. Air Force to make up for the unprecedented shortfall in Gen. 4 and Gen. 4.5 fighter numbers. CCAs have been envisioned not as substitutes that will supplant manned jets, but supplement the numbers for the future high-end war with China in the western Pacific.
The future of autonomous airpower is not a concept – it is being built right now.
Autonomy for the world. The greatest victory requires no war. pic.twitter.com/Eu6uStEgZh
— Shield AI (@shieldaitech) October 28, 2025
As we have discussed in previous reports, quantity is a quality of its own, and even relatively less advanced jets that are indigenously developed with local and reliable supply chains allow sustaining longer conflicts. Shield AI plans the first vertical take-off test for the X-BAT in 2026, a full system flight testing and operational validation in 2028 and launch of production by 2029.
The X-BAT has been shown in renditions to be able to autonomously conduct Combat Air Patrols (CAP) and release AIM-120 AMRAAM and AIM-174 Gunslinger medium- and long-range missiles at targets. This suggests the Hivemind AI agent would be able to autonomously discriminate targets based on markers like an unfamiliar radar signature or Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) tones.
X-BAT is proving that speed, autonomy, and ingenuity will redefine airpower.
Autonomy for the world. The greatest victory requires no war. pic.twitter.com/ThMi96tLsW
— Shield AI (@shieldaitech) October 29, 2025
The aircraft has a front air intake, with possibly radar and electronic-warfare sensor arrays on the upper and lower surfaces of the nose and wings’ leading edges, with the avionics on the dorsal section. The evidently bulging ventral section hosts the weapons payload.
The drone has also been shown being able to operate the AGM-158 – either the JASSM (Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile) or LRASM (Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile), and the AGM-154 JSOW (Joint Stand-Off Weapon). The absence of a landing gear allows for more space for internal weapons stores.
More footage of X-BAT
Shield AI has also unveiled some more footage of the X-BAT, after the concept was unveiled on Oct. 22. One full-size scale model in the representative pre-VTOL launch position already exists.
First flight 2026. Production 2029.
Autonomy for the world. The greatest victory requires no war. pic.twitter.com/pg6wHNWKWf
— Shield AI (@shieldaitech) October 29, 2025
Another model is inside a wind tunnel testing facility undergoing airflow tests, while the other is in an anechoic chamber. Footage from Shield AI’s facility also shows precision laser measurements processes on the first airframe, and a part of the wing being carted to be assembled with the fuselage.
