Special Report: Shield AI deepens defence footprint in India

Shield AI's V‑BAT ISR platform is central to the company's localisation strategy in India. (Shield AI)

US firm Shield AI is accelerating its expansion in India, focusing on developing indigenous defence capabilities and production of its unmanned platforms.

In late April, Shield AI announced the opening of its New Delhi office to bolster its partnership with the Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) and deepen engagement with the country's defence industry.

According to the company, its wholly owned subsidiary, Shield AI India, will support software integration, engineering, and autonomy development, while enhancing domestic engineering and software capabilities.

Managing director of Shield AI India Sarjan Shah told Janes in May that the new office reflects the firm's long‑term commitment to India. The facility is intended to support continued presence and customer engagement, ensuring alignment with strategic discussions, he said.

Shah added that Shield AI's expansion is initially centred on the company's V‑BAT unmanned aircraft system (UAS) and its localisation in India. V-BAT is a fixed-wing, vertical take-off and landing (VTOL)-capable, long-endurance UAS that can be forward-deployed in complex territories. It has an endurance of more than 12 hours and a maximum operating payload capacity of 40 lb.

“Shield AI made the decision to make India a top international priority in 2022,” he said. “As a result, India is the only country in the world where we have pre-emptively executed a comprehensive transfer of technology to establish a fully indigenous production line and supply chain for our advanced Group 3 ISR [intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance] UAS V-BAT.”

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