Shield AI Selected as Mission Autonomy Provider for the U.S. Air Force Collaborative Combat Aircraft Program

Hivemind autonomy software will fly aboard Anduril's Fury (YFQ-44A)

WASHINGTON, Feb. 13, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Shield AI, the deep–tech company building state–of–the–art autonomy software products and aircraft, today announced its selection as a mission autonomy provider supporting the U.S. Air Force Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) program. Shield AI was selected following a competitive evaluation to support mission autonomy Technology Maturity and Risk Reduction (TMRR) efforts for the program.

Under the program, Shield AI's Hivemind autonomy software has successfully integrated on Anduril's Fury (YFQ-44A) aircraft and is supporting system-level testing in preparation for flight demonstrations expected in the coming months.

"Shield AI is proud to be named a mission autonomy provider supporting the Collaborative Combat Aircraft program," said Gary Steele, CEO of Shield AI. "The Air Force is moving with urgency to explore how autonomy can reshape air combat, and we have spent years preparing for this—building, testing, and flying mission autonomy in the real world. We will work relentlessly to deliver and to help advance the next era of airpower alongside the Air Force and its industry partners."

Hivemind is Shield AI's core artificial intelligence software that assumes the role of a human pilot or operator, enabling unmanned defense systems to sense, decide, and act. Unlike traditional autopilots that simply follow preplanned routes, Hivemind can reroute around no-fly zones, avoid or engage obstacles, respond to unexpected conditions, and complete missions safely and effectively without human intervention.

"Delivering mission autonomy in real-world combat conditions is hard, which is why Shield AI has spent more than a decade building Hivemind and the technical and operational foundation to do it right," said Christian Gutierrez, vice president of Hivemind Solutions at Shield AI. "Our team brings proven experience fielding mission-critical autonomy on complex weapon systems, deep operational understanding across domains, and a development model built for speed. We value the opportunity to work with the U.S. Air Force on the future of mission autonomy."

Hivemind is Autonomy Government Reference Architecture (A-GRA) compliant, platform-agnostic, and has demonstrated A-GRA-aligned autonomy across multiple government and industry test efforts, including work with General Atomics' MQ-20 Avenger, Northrop Grumman's Talon IQ ^™ autonomous ecosystem, U.S. Navy BQM-177 test aircraft, and the Airbus UH-72A Lakota helicopter.

About Shield AI

Founded in 2015, Shield AI is a venture-backed deep-tech company with the mission of protecting service members and civilians with intelligent systems. Its products include the V-BAT and X-BAT aircraft, Hivemind Enterprise, and the Hivemind Vision product lines. With offices and facilities across the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, and the Asia-Pacific, Shield AI's technology actively supports operations worldwide. For more information, visit www.shield.ai. Follow Shield AI on LinkedIn, X, Instagram, and YouTube.

Media Contact: Lily Hinz; [email protected]

Correction: The photo has been removed

SOURCE Shield AI