WASHINGTON, July 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Shield
AI, the defense technology company building the world's best
AI pilot, announced today that the U.S. Coast Guard has awarded the
company a $198,106,876
indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity firm fixed-price contract
to provide Contractor Owned Contractor Operated (COCO)
Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) services. This
service will be implemented using the V-BAT unmanned aircraft
system (UAS).
"We're excited to support the U.S. Coast Guard with their ISR
operations. All maritime vessels will become drone carriers as
maritime forces move to deploy distributed, affordable, intelligent
drones. V-BAT's selection by the U.S. Coast Guard is indicative of
a broader marker movement where increasingly customers are
recognizing they can accomplish the vast majority of their mission
sets with affordable drones rather than exquisite, expensive crewed
or uncrewed aircraft," said Brandon
Tseng, Shield AI's President, Co-founder, and former Navy
SEAL.
The V-BAT series aircraft is the only operationally deployed
single-engine ducted fan vertical takeoff and land (VTOL) UAS that
can launch and recover from a hover and fly on wing in horizontal
flight. With more than five years of persistent operational
experience at sea, U.S. and international customers view the
V-BAT as a flexible platform capable of performing Group 2 to Group
5 UAS missions and beyond.
About Shield AI
Founded in 2015, Shield AI is a venture-backed defense
technology company whose mission is to protect service members and
civilians with intelligent systems. In pursuit of this mission,
Shield AI is building the world's best AI pilot. Its AI pilot,
Hivemind, has flown jets (F-16; MQM-178 Firejet), a vertical
takeoff and landing drone (MQ-35 V-BAT), and three quadcopters
(Nova, Nova 2, iPRD). The company has offices in San Diego, Dallas, Washington,
D.C., and abroad. Shield AI's products and people are
currently in the field actively supporting operations with the U.S.
Department of Defense and U.S. allies. For more information, visit
www.shield.ai. Follow Shield AI on
LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram.
Media Contact: Lily
Hinz, Media@shield.ai
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SOURCE Shield AI