New Delhi: Shield AI, the deep-tech company building state-of-the-art autonomy software products and aircraft, September 1, 2025 announced the successful demonstration of key mission-autonomous capabilities using Hivemind as part of a demo series for the Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD). These demonstrations serve as a step towards MoD validation, enabling them to formally approve Hivemind adoption on V-BATs, currently under consideration for acquisition to equip the Indian Army and the Indian Air Force.
This demonstration was conducted from August 12 – 14, 2025 in Himachal Pradesh using Shield AI’s Nova 2 quadcopter, equipped with Hivemind, Shield AI’s autonomy software. Over three days of hands-on flight training and system presentations to the Indian Special Forces (from both Indian Army and Indian Air Force), Hivemind demonstrated fully autonomous as well as AI-assisted, human-piloted operation in GPS-and-communication denied environments.
“Autonomy will be a decisive factor in the future of defence, and India has made it clear that it intends to lead,” said Sarjan Shah, Managing Director for India at Shield AI. “With Hivemind, Shield AI is delivering proven, mission-ready autonomy that performs in the most demanding operational environments. These demonstrations represent a critical step forward in supporting India’s efforts to rapidly adopt next-generation capabilities that strengthen national security and support indigenous defence innovation.”
Hivemind is Shield AI’s autonomy software that empowers unmanned systems to perform complex missions in GPS- and communications-contested environments. Designed for modular integration and multi-platform deployment, Hivemind enables partners and customers to rapidly build, test, and field mission autonomy on a variety of platforms, including V-BAT, Shield AI’s Group 3 unmanned aerial system (UAS).
Nova 2 is a next-generation quadcopter designed to address 3D environments, providing unmatched autonomy for indoor (GNSS-denied) and confined-space operations. Lessons from the integration of Hivemind onto Nova quadcopters have informed the deployment of Hivemind onto larger platforms, such as F-16, MQ-20 Avenger, and V-BAT.
The series serves as a successful demonstration that Hivemind can indeed be integrated and can perform complex mission-autonomous behaviors on a variety of platforms. This achievement reinforces Shield AI’s role in strengthening India’s defence capabilities, while also expanding the company’s ongoing presence in the region. In November 2024, Shield AI announced a strategic partnership with JSW Defence Pvt. Ltd. to indigenise and begin manufacturing V-BATs in India, marking a significant commitment to boosting India’s defence capabilities.
