Royal Netherlands Navy begins operating V-BAT autonomous ISR drone capable of GPS-denied and jammed-network missions

The Royal Netherlands Navy has begun operational deployment of the Shield AI V-BAT unmanned aircraft system, a drone designed to operate fully autonomously in GPS-denied and communications-jammed environments, Interesting Engineering reported this week. V-BAT takes off and lands vertically and transitions to fixed-wing flight for endurance, requiring no runway, catapult or recovery infrastructure. Its AI-driven autonomy allows a single operator to manage multiple aircraft simultaneously. Shield AI’s president described V-BAT as the de facto ISR and targeting drone of choice for militaries worldwide in jamming-contested environments. The Netherlands Navy operates across missions from the Arctic to the Caribbean, requiring systems that function without GPS or datalink continuity. GPS-denied autonomous ISR capability at this operational maturity level is the next generation of requirement now appearing in European police special operations and maritime border patrol procurement.