Shield AI Delivers First V-BAT Drones to Taiwan Coast Guard
Shield AI has delivered the first V-BAT uncrewed aircraft to the Taiwan Coast Guard Administration (CGA), together with its partner Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation (AIDC). Twelve V-BATs are due to reach the CGA over the coming months, according to the company.
- Shield AI made the first V-BAT delivery to the Taiwan Coast Guard Administration with partner AIDC.
- Twelve V-BATs will be delivered to the CGA over the coming months.
- The CGA selected the V-BAT in July 2026 for its "Shipborne UAV" program.
- The aircraft will support maritime surveillance, coastal patrols and law enforcement from ships.
- Shield AI will train CGA operators and maintenance staff and build a local support system with AIDC.
Twelve V-BATs for the CGA's Shipborne UAV program
The CGA competitively selected Shield AI's V-BAT in July 2026 for its "Shipborne UAV" program. According to Shield AI, the first aircraft have now been delivered, and the full set of twelve will follow in the months ahead.
On October 7, the CGA presented its newly arrived V-BATs at the Port of Taipei to Minister Kuan Bi-Ling of the Ocean Affairs Council and Secretary General Joseph Wu of the National Security Council. Shield AI engineers demonstrated that the aircraft can be set up within minutes, which the company says shows the system's ease of operation.
Maritime awareness from ship decks
The CGA plans to use the V-BAT as a ship-based capability to maintain persistent Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA). The stated uses are surveillance, coastal patrols and law enforcement operations.
Shield AI says the vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) design removes the need for runways and improves deployment flexibility, while optimizing costs and reducing personnel requirements. The company describes the V-BAT as a Group 3 uncrewed aircraft system with a ducted-fan design, more than 12 hours of endurance and a heavy-fuel engine. Its single-engine, enclosed-rotor layout allows launch and recovery from ship decks, urban rooftops and austere environments without assistance, according to Shield AI.
Brandon Tseng, Shield AI president and co-founder, said the V-BAT "will give Taiwan's Coast Guard the maritime domain awareness and intelligence picture needed across the Taiwan Strait and its maritime borders." He added that the aircraft already serves the U.S. Coast Guard, "helping intercept more than 100,000 pounds of narcotics last year alone."
Local training and support with AIDC
Shield AI will train Coast Guard operators and maintenance personnel. At the same time, it will work with AIDC to build a localized support system for the aircraft.
The two companies signed an agreement last year to advance Taiwan's sovereign defense capabilities, strengthen its aerospace industrial base and enhance collaborative technological innovation. Their cooperation covers sustainment, training, autonomy integration and other technical initiatives, with the aim of ensuring Shield AI products can be deployed, supported and scaled in Taiwan.
AIDC President Jennifer Chuang said Shield AI has strengthened its local presence in Taiwan over the past year. In her words, this gives AIDC reassurance that the company "is not just delivering a capability but is also vested in helping build the local expertise and infrastructure that will enhance our maritime security for years to come."
What it means
For the CGA, the delivery adds a ship-launched aerial platform aimed at continuous monitoring of Taiwan's waters without relying on runways. The emphasis on operator training, maintenance and a local support system suggests the program is meant to be sustained within Taiwan rather than depend on outside support alone. Tseng framed the deployment as a way to help keep the Strait safe from illegal activity and hostile actors, and to give Taiwan "the sovereignty it needs to protect its own waters." The source does not give a contract value or a delivery schedule beyond the coming months.
