# Shield AI V-BAT: Price, Availability & Status (2026)

Shield AI's V-BAT (MQ-35) is a verified-autonomous Group 3 VTOL ISR drone running Hivemind, with two verified deployments. Defense procurement, no consumer price.

## Price

_No verified price on record._

There is no consumer price. V-BAT is defense procurement equipment sold to militaries on contract, so DEPLOY records zero price points rather than a consumer figure.

## Availability

_Status: internal-only_

V-BAT is sold to defense customers, not consumers. It has two verified deployments on the DEPLOY registry: the US Coast Guard and Ukraine, the strongest deployment anchor in the new-defense drone cohort.

## Status

V-BAT (military designation MQ-35) is a production-maturity, verified-autonomous Group 3 VTOL fixed-wing ISR and targeting drone from Shield AI (San Diego, founded 2015). It takes off and lands vertically from a small footprint, runs the Hivemind autonomy stack, and is built to operate in GPS- and communications-denied environments. Its autonomy is verified-substantive (genuine fielded onboard autonomy), and it carries the cohort's strongest deployment anchor: two verified deployments on the registry, the US Coast Guard and Ukraine. The Block upgrade adds SATCOM and a heavy-fuel engine. V-BAT Teams is a multi-aircraft capability, not a separate model.

## Compare

| Model | Pricing | Tier |
| --- | --- | --- |
| [Anduril Ghost-X](/price/anduril-ghost) | No consumer price | absence (Production (VTOL ISR)) |
| [Helsing HX-2](/price/helsing-hx-2) | No consumer price | absence (Production (strike munition)) |
| [MQ-9 Reaper](/price/ga-mq-9-reaper) | No consumer price | absence (Legacy-prime (remotely-piloted)) |

## Common questions

### Is V-BAT autonomous or remotely piloted?

Verified-autonomous. It runs Shield AI's Hivemind stack with genuine fielded onboard autonomy, built to operate in GPS- and communications-denied environments, not a remotely-piloted platform with AI-assist marketing.

### Can I buy a Shield AI V-BAT?

No. V-BAT is defense procurement equipment sold to militaries on contract; there is no consumer price.

## How DEPLOY verified this

- [How DEPLOY tracks pricing](https://news.deploy.report/methodology/how-we-track-pricing)
- [How DEPLOY verifies deployment status](https://news.deploy.report/methodology/how-we-verify-deployment-status)

## Related reading

- [Deploy News: What is physical AI?](https://news.deploy.report/explainers/what-is-physical-ai)

## On the registry

- [Model record](https://registry.deploy.report/models/shield-ai-v-bat.md)
- [Manufacturer](https://registry.deploy.report/companies/shield-ai.md)

_Canonical: https://deploy.report/price/shield-ai-v-bat_