The American drone manufacturer Shield AI has opened an office in Kyiv to provide full support for Ukraine’s fleet of MQ-35A V-BAT vertical takeoff and landing drones.

The company announced this in a press release.

“To fully support the Ukrainian forces, Shield AI has opened an office in Kyiv, establishing a local presence in Ukraine with a team of engineers, mission operations personnel, and technical specialists,” the statement said.

The company also announced the start of training for the Unmanned Systems Forces to operate V-BAT drones.

V-BAT in the Ukrainian Defense Forces

Recently, on January 12, Militarnyi reported that the Ukrainian Defense Forces had received new Shield AI MQ-35A V-BAT drones.

At the time, it was reported that V-BAT had already conducted its first autonomous reconnaissance mission on the Ukrainian front.

“In Ukraine, the V-BAT has demonstrated resistance to electronic warfare, demonstrating autonomy in the most difficult conditions and completing its first successful reconnaissance mission,” the company said in a statement.

The V-BAT weighs 56.5 kg, including up to 11 kg of payload. It can stay in the air for up to 10 hours.

The drone’s reconnaissance capabilities are provided by a powerful optoelectronic station.

It is equipped with a sensitive MWIR thermal imaging sensor, and artificial intelligence is used to detect and recognize targets.

The main feature of the Shield AI MQ-35A V-BAT is its vertical takeoff and landing on a 4×4 meter area.

Also in 2023, the manufacturer announced that V-BAT was able to control a swarm of drones.