Leading Defense Firm to Build Pilotless ‘xBat’ Fighter in Seattle

Move over Batman, in a few years a bat-like military fighter, with no pilot, will be zooming out of Seattle--according to a leading defense tech firm.

   Seattle Chosen for Shield AI Project

San Diego-based Shield has started establishing a defense hub in Seattle as the home of its new xBat pilotless fighter plane.  The 26-foot long autonomous fighter will change the scope of aerial warfare, according to some experts.

Shield hopes to have 4,000 workers in the area in by the early 2030's, as it launches the project from a 420,000 square-foot facility near DesMoines, WA.

xBat fighter--Shield AI Tech website media

  The XBat Is Pilotless

The project could inject as many as 27,000 direct and indirect jobs into Washington state over the next ten years. According to Geekwire:

"Unveiled last year, the X-BAT is an AI-piloted strike fighter that takes off and lands vertically, carries up to 2,000-pound class weapons in internal bays, and is designed for a 1,000-nautical-mile combat radius — which, when it takes flight, would top the estimated 590 nautical mile combat radius of the Lockheed Martin F-35A."

The first plane will roll out of the assembly area in 2028, and production would increase to about 150 a month by the early 2030's.

 The Plane Will Take Off and Land Vertically, Pointed in the Air

The plane is 26 feet long, has a 39-foot wide wingspan, can fly up to 50,000 feet, with a range of 2,000 nautical miles (maximum), its operational range set to be about 1,000, that is out and back.

The first flights are expected later this year or early 2027.