Shield AI has been selected as a mission autonomy provider for the U.S. Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) program, placing its Hivemind autonomy software at the center of upcoming autonomous wingman testing. The company was chosen after a competitive evaluation to support Technology Maturity and Risk Reduction efforts focused on mission autonomy.
Under the program, Shield AI’s Hivemind software has been integrated on Anduril’s Fury (YFQ-44A) aircraft and is now supporting system-level tests ahead of planned flight demonstrations in the coming months. The Air Force’s selection of Hivemind for CCA marks the first time mission autonomy software has been formally decoupled from the aircraft platform in this effort.
“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 described by the company as its 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 follow preplanned routes, Hivemind can reroute around no-fly zones, avoid or engage obstacles, respond to unexpected conditions, and complete missions 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.”
Shield AI says Hivemind is Autonomy Government Reference Architecture compliant and platform-agnostic, with autonomy already demonstrated across multiple government and industry test efforts. Those efforts include 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.
Founded in 2015, Shield AI positions itself as a venture-backed deep tech company focused on protecting service members and civilians with intelligent systems. Its product portfolio includes the V-BAT and X-BAT aircraft, Hivemind Enterprise, and Hivemind Vision, with operations spanning the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, and the Asia-Pacific.