Poland, Shield AI Sign X-BAT Production Letter of Intent

Shield AI, Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa and Wojskowe Zakłady Lotnicze Nr 2 have signed a five-year letter of intent covering potential Polish participation in the design, production, delivery and sustainment of the X-BAT autonomous combat aircraft. Signed at MSPO 2026 in Kielce on September 8, the agreement could establish Poland as an industrial base for X-BAT production and support for both domestic and export customers.

The scope extends beyond aircraft assembly. The companies will examine maintenance, repair and overhaul, training, technology transfer, participation in Shield AI’s supply chain and cooperation involving Hivemind autonomy software and the V-BAT unmanned aircraft. Definitive agreements will determine individual responsibilities, production locations and facilities.

PGZ could build X-BAT for Poland and export customers

Under the letter of intent, the three companies will determine how Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa, or PGZ, and its subsidiaries could participate in X-BAT design, production and delivery.

The proposed industrial structure is not limited to aircraft intended for the Polish Armed Forces. Shield AI says the cooperation could support X-BAT deliveries to customers in Poland and other countries, potentially placing Polish facilities within the aircraft’s international supply chain.

PGZ brings together nearly 70 Polish defense companies and research organizations covering aerospace, weapons, armored vehicles, air defense, naval systems, electronics and maintenance.

Wojskowe Zakłady Lotnicze Nr 2, or WZL-2, would provide a more specialized aviation role. The Bydgoszcz-based company already supports F-16 and C-130 aircraft operated by Poland and is developing maintenance capabilities for the General Electric F110 engine family.

That engine family is also intended to power X-BAT.

WZL-2 could therefore provide Poland with a domestic sustainment capability extending beyond the X-BAT airframe itself. The exact division of industrial work has not yet been finalized.

Five-year agreement includes Hivemind and V-BAT cooperation

The agreement reaches beyond X-BAT.

Shield AI and its Polish partners will also discuss cooperation involving the company’s Hivemind autonomy software and V-BAT vertical takeoff and landing unmanned aircraft.

Hivemind is the autonomy architecture Shield AI is developing to allow aircraft and other systems to execute missions with reduced dependence on remote operators and communications links.

For Poland, access to autonomy technology could ultimately prove as strategically relevant as participation in aircraft manufacturing.

The letter includes technology transfer and development among the areas to be negotiated. It does not specify which technologies would be transferred, what intellectual property Poland could access or whether Polish companies would receive the ability to independently modify Hivemind.

Those details will depend on subsequent definitive agreements.

The five-year duration provides the parties with a framework to negotiate those arrangements while X-BAT itself progresses through development and flight testing.

X-BAT targets combat operations without conventional runways

Shield AI is developing X-BAT as an uncrewed multirole combat aircraft capable of vertical takeoff and landing.

The company lists a wingspan of 39 feet, a maximum range exceeding 2,000 nautical miles and an operating ceiling above 50,000 feet.

Shield AI says the aircraft will have a 1,000-nautical-mile combat radius and internal weapons bays capable of carrying weapons in the 2,000-pound class. The aircraft is designed around a General Electric F110 engine and an open mission architecture supporting radar, electronic warfare and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance payloads.

Its vertical takeoff and landing configuration is intended to reduce dependence on conventional runways.

That feature has particular relevance for NATO’s eastern flank, where dispersing combat aircraft away from a limited number of established air bases could complicate an adversary’s targeting problem.

X-BAT is designed to operate from smaller sites, roads and ships in addition to conventional airfields.

However, X-BAT remains a developmental aircraft. Shield AI says flight testing is scheduled to begin in 2026, meaning the performance figures currently available are manufacturer specifications rather than demonstrated operational capabilities.

Poland moved from X-BAT discussions to an industrial framework

The MSPO agreement follows several months of increasingly public engagement between Poland and Shield AI.

In June, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk disclosed that Shield AI wanted Poland to participate in the X-BAT program, including manufacturing activities in the country.

Tusk subsequently said Shield AI viewed Poland as a potential investment and technology hub. He also connected the discussions with plans to develop Polish capabilities for F110-family engine maintenance.

The September letter of intent turns those political and industrial discussions into a formal five-year framework, although it remains short of a production contract or Polish X-BAT procurement order.

That distinction is important.

Poland has not yet announced an order for X-BAT, and the letter of intent does not guarantee that production will take place. Shield AI, PGZ and WZL-2 must first negotiate definitive agreements setting out investments, responsibilities and production locations.

Polish Navy V-BAT order gives Shield AI an existing foothold

Shield AI already has a procurement relationship with Poland.

On June 23, Poland’s Armament Agency signed a contract for V-BAT unmanned aircraft for the Polish Navy. The systems are intended to operate from a Polish naval vessel and provide maritime domain awareness and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities in the Baltic Sea.

Polish authorities said the approximately $16 million acquisition covers several V-BAT aircraft, with delivery planned before the end of 2026.

The V-BAT purchase gives Poland operational experience with a Shield AI aircraft while the much larger X-BAT concept remains in development.

It also means the new industrial discussions cover a company that has already progressed from marketing to an actual Polish defense procurement contract.

The sequence is notable: initial X-BAT discussions in June, a Polish V-BAT contract days later and now an industrial framework with PGZ and WZL-2 in September.

Poland wants industrial participation, not only another aircraft purchase

The X-BAT agreement fits a broader Polish effort to connect major defense acquisitions with domestic production, sustainment and technology development.

For PGZ, participation could create work extending from aerospace manufacturing and systems integration to through-life support. WZL-2 could gain an additional role around F110 engine maintenance and autonomous combat aviation.

The potential Hivemind component introduces another layer.

If future agreements include meaningful autonomy development in Poland, the partnership could create capabilities applicable beyond X-BAT itself. Shield AI markets Hivemind as a platform-independent autonomy architecture, making software cooperation potentially relevant to other Polish uncrewed systems.

None of those outcomes is guaranteed by the September letter.

The next stage will be the negotiation of definitive agreements specifying what Poland will manufacture, which technologies will be transferred, where production will occur and whether the Polish Armed Forces will formally procure X-BAT.

If those negotiations result in production contracts, Poland could move from being a prospective X-BAT customer to an industrial participant in Shield AI’s autonomous combat aircraft program.

Questions and answers

Will Poland produce Shield AI X-BAT aircraft?

Shield AI, PGZ and WZL-2 have signed a five-year letter of intent covering potential X-BAT design, production, delivery and sustainment in Poland. Specific production responsibilities and facilities still require definitive agreements.

Has Poland ordered the X-BAT?

No Polish X-BAT procurement contract has been announced. The September agreement establishes a framework for industrial cooperation rather than an aircraft purchase.

What role could WZL-2 have in the X-BAT program?

WZL-2 could support aircraft sustainment and is already developing maintenance capabilities for the F110 engine family that will power X-BAT. The company currently supports Poland’s F-16 and C-130 fleets.

What is the Shield AI X-BAT?

X-BAT is a developmental uncrewed combat aircraft designed for vertical takeoff and landing. Shield AI lists a 1,000-nautical-mile combat radius, internal carriage of weapons up to the 2,000-pound class and a maximum range exceeding 2,000 nautical miles.