{"id":30582,"date":"2026-10-08T21:00:55","date_gmt":"2026-10-08T18:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liberalglobe.com\/?p=30582"},"modified":"2026-10-08T21:00:55","modified_gmt":"2026-10-08T18:00:55","slug":"shield-ai-will-seek-to-produce-the-x-bat-in-greece-with-gek-terna","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.liberalglobe.com\/?p=30582","title":{"rendered":"Shield AI will seek to produce the X-BAT in Greece with GEK TERNA"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Shield AI and GEK TERNA, Greece\u2019s largest investor in critical infrastructure assets, have signed a strategic agreement to jointly pursue component manufacturing, aircraft integration, and long-term support for the X-BAT in Greece.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Greece, a NATO member and long-standing US ally, defends hundreds of islands and an extensive coastline across the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean. Runways are among the primary targets in a conflict\u2014and island airfields have few, exposed runways\u2014but the X-BAT eliminates this dependency. Designed as a long-range, highly survivable strike fighter piloted by artificial intelligence, the X-BAT features vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) capabilities, enabling operations from ships, islands, or remote locations without runways. It will carry weapons weighing up to 2,000 pounds in internal bays comparable in size to those of the F-35, boast a target combat radius of 1,000 nautical miles, and support power-intensive payloads for electronic warfare and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) missions. Powered by a GE Aerospace F110 engine, the X-BAT will operate using Shield AI\u2019s Hivemind autonomy software, which enables operations in GPS- or communications-denied environments. Flight testing is scheduled to begin later this year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Greece is already flying our aircraft over the Aegean, and Greek engineers are already using our software as a foundation for further development; therefore, the X-BAT represents the next step in this relationship,” said James Lythgoe, Shield\u2019s Regional Director for Eastern and Southeastern Europe. “An aircraft that does not require a runway is well-suited to a country that defends hundreds of inhabited islands. GEK TERNA builds and operates the highways, airports, energy systems, and critical digital infrastructure upon which Greece relies. We seek that same capability\u2014in the structuring, delivery, and overall operation of technologically complex projects\u2014to establish the launch sites, training centers, MRO facilities, and support hubs, as well as the industrial base, that will keep the X-BAT flying in Greece and across the Eastern Mediterranean.”<\/p>\n\n\n

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James Lythgoe of Shield AI and Giorgos Kouladis of GEK TERNA at the signing of the strategic agreement for the X-BAT in Greece. Photo: Shield AI<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under the MoU, Shield AI would lead the X-BAT program and provide the aircraft’s autonomy software and mission systems. GEK TERNA would act as Shield AI\u2019s strategic partner in Greece, managing and bolstering a Greek supplier base\u2014including small and medium-sized enterprises expected to participate in the program\u2014while also operating a local X-BAT program office. Local industrial participation is expected to encompass component manufacturing and assembly, ground support equipment, operational bases and launch sites, training centers, and maintenance and repair services, as well as research collaborations with Greek universities aimed at serving not only Greece but the broader region.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Shield AI and GEK TERNA, Greece\u2019s largest investor in critical infrastructure assets, have signed a strategic agreement to jointly pursue component manufacturing, aircraft integration,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":30583,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[620,946,2956],"tags":[25,8455,146,8453,70,8454],"class_list":["post-30582","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","category-companies","category-industries","tag-eu","tag-gek-terna","tag-greece","tag-shield-ai","tag-usa","tag-x-bat"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.liberalglobe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30582","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.liberalglobe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.liberalglobe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.liberalglobe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.liberalglobe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=30582"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.liberalglobe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30582\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30585,"href":"https:\/\/www.liberalglobe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30582\/revisions\/30585"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.liberalglobe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/30583"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.liberalglobe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=30582"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.liberalglobe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=30582"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.liberalglobe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=30582"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}