Buying guide
Ghost (Ghost-X) vs Shield AI V-BAT in 2026
Comparing 2 humanoid robots across availability, pricing, capabilities, and verified deployments. Current as of 2026.
| Attribute | No image on file | No image on file |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Anduril Industries | Shield AI |
| Form factor | aerial | aerial |
| Maturity | production | production |
| Availability | internal-onlyenterprise | internal-onlyenterprise |
| Price | Not announced | Not announced |
| Capability claims | — | — |
| Brain |
|
|
| Verified deployments | 1United States Army | 3 |
| Privacy practices | — | — |
| Sources on file | 9 | 13 |
Editorial summaries
Ghost (Ghost-X)
Anduril's Ghost (current Ghost-X variant) is a helicopter-style single-rotor autonomous VTOL small drone for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, redesigned on Ukrainian combat feedback from the 2020 Ghost 4. It carries about 20 to 25 pounds over roughly 75 to 90 minutes and 25 kilometers, runs Anduril's Lattice autonomy, and sits on the Defense Innovation Unit's China-free Blue UAS list. Its autonomy is verified-substantive, not marketing: Lattice delivers fielded onboard autonomy including radio-silent flight, single-operator multi-drone teaming, and automatic low-battery mission hand-off, and the registry wires Ghost to the Lattice brain (not to Shield AI's Hivemind). The deployment record is strong: a September 2024 US Army Company-Level small-UAS Tranche 1 selection under a $14.417 million ten-year contract, Replicator fielding to Brigade Combat Teams, more than 1,200 unit-hours across thirteen Army units, and combat use in Ukraine since 2022. It is defense procurement equipment sold on contract; there is no consumer price.
Shield AI V-BAT
Shield AI's V-BAT (military designation MQ-35) is a Group 3 VTOL fixed-wing ISR and targeting drone that takes off and lands vertically from a small footprint, powered by the Hivemind autonomy stack and built to operate in GPS- and communications-denied environments. Its autonomy is verified-substantive: Hivemind is genuine fielded onboard autonomy, and V-BAT is the new-defense cohort's strongest deployment anchor with two verified deployments on the registry (the US Coast Guard and Ukraine). The Block upgrade adds SATCOM and a heavy-fuel engine. Shield AI, founded in San Diego in 2015, sells V-BAT as defense procurement equipment on contract; there is no consumer price.
Machine-readable: this page as markdown.