# Shield AI says X-BAT per-aircraft cost could fall to $25 million, Breaking Defense reports
Breaking Defense reports a higher-end sensor configuration could add $10 million. Shield AI aims to begin production in 2029.
Published 2026-11-04 by TGOs. Canonical: https://tgos.io/news/2026/11/04/shield-ai-says-x-bat-per-aircraft-cost-could/
Shield AI cofounder and chief strategy officer Ryan Tseng said the X-BAT's per-aircraft cost could be brought down to $25 million, Breaking Defense reported Nov. 4 from Munich.[1] The autonomous fighter is designed for vertical takeoff and landing.[1]
The cost case reported by Breaking Defense remains prospective.[1] Shield AI has completed its first full-scale prototype and is moving it from Frisco, Texas, to its flight-test facility in Newton, Kansas.[2]
Tseng said customers wanting a higher-end sensor configuration could expect to pay an extra $10 million, according to Breaking Defense.[1] He put the baseline at around a quarter of the cost of a Eurofighter or an F-35 in Europe.[1] The article gives no cost basis for that comparison or production quantity assumed for the X-BAT price.[1]
Andrew Hawkes, Shield AI's X-BAT director for Europe, told the outlet the company has several active sales campaigns across the continent, but declined to name customers.[1] Tseng said European orders and regional partnership agreements would be announced soon; he declined to disclose aircraft quantities.[1]
## Why it matters
Shield AI's path to production still runs through prototype testing.[2] The company plans engine runs, then crane-suspended testing, before untethered flights.[2] It aims to fly the missionized aircraft in 2028 and enter production in 2029.[2]
## Sources
1. Breaking Defense: Shield AI cofounder teases 'snowball' of X-BAT fighter drone announcements in Europe (Nov. 4, 2026)
2. Shield AI: We Built the First X-BAT Prototype in One Year. Now We Put it to the Test.