China targets US runways, prompts new AI fighter jet development response

Analysts say China has developed a scary strategy for going to war with the United States: destroying American fighter planes before they leave the ground.

In almost every modern conflict, disabling enemy aircraft on the ground has been the first step. When Israel struck Iranian nuclear sites earlier this year, it began by destroying Iran’s runways, putting the Iranian air force out of action before it could take off. Russia and Ukraine have done the same throughout their ongoing war, targeting airfields to cripple enemy aircraft. When India clashed with Pakistan, the opening salvos hit Pakistani air bases.

Beijing has taken this lesson to heart. the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) He spent years building an arsenal of long-range precision missiles — including “carrier killers” like the DF-21D and DF-26 — capable of destroying American aircraft carriers and hitting American airfields across the Pacific. The goal: to keep US air power out of range before it can launch.

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Now, a US defense technology company says it has built a way to fight back. San Diego-based Shield AI has unveiled a new AI-driven fighter jet designed to operate without runways, without GPS, and without fixed communications links — an aircraft that can think, fly, and fight on its own.

Shield AI says the aircraft, called the They are designed to operate from ships, small islands or improvised sites – places that conventional aircraft cannot reach. The plane’s dash speed remains secret.

“China has built this anti-air access bubble that is putting our runways at risk,” Armor Harris, senior vice president of aircraft engineering at Shield AI, said in an interview with Fox News. “They basically said: ‘We’re not going to compete in stealth in the air – we’re going to target your planes before they even get off the ground.'”

Launched vertically, three X-BATs can fit in the space of a single fighter or legacy helicopter.

According to Harris, the United States has spent decades perfecting stealth and survivability in the air while leaving its forces vulnerable on the ground. “The way to solve this problem is mobility,” he said. “You’re always moving. This is the only VTOL fighter being built today.”

The X-BAT’s Hivemind technology allows it to operate in denied or crowded environments, where conventional aircraft are blind. The system uses on-board sensors to interpret its surroundings, redirect around threats and identify targets in real time. “She reads and reacts to the situation around her,” Harris said. “It doesn’t fly a pre-programmed path. If new threats emerge, it can redirect itself or identify targets and then ask a human for permission to engage.”

He stressed that this human element remains essential. “It is very important to us that a human being is always involved in the decision to use deadly force,” Harris said. “This doesn’t mean a person has to be in the cockpit – they can be remote or delegated through tasks – but there will always be a human decision maker.”

Three X-BAT fighter jets can fit into the space of a conventional fighter jet or a single helicopter, according to the company. (AI Shield)

Shield AI says the X-BAT will be combat-ready by 2029 and is designed to deliver fifth- or sixth-generation performance at a fraction of the cost of manned fighters. The aircraft’s compact footprint allows up to three X-BATs to fit on the deck space of a single fighter or legacy helicopter, giving commanders greater flexibility in launching sorties from a limited space.

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The AI-powered fighter jet is designed to be able to take off vertically from the sea or from a confined mobile or land space. (AI Shield)

While Shield AI doesn’t disclose specific numbers, the company says the X-BAT’s price is in the same range as the Air Force’s next-generation Cooperative Combat Aircraft (CCA) program. Independent pilots It was intended to fly alongside, and eventually in front of, manned fighters. Costs vary depending on mission systems and configurations, but the company’s goal is to scale production to keep the aircraft affordable and sustainable throughout its life cycle, breaking what it calls the traditional “fighter cost curve.”

The company estimates the aircraft will deliver a nearly tenfold improvement in cost per impact over legacy fifth-generation aircraft, including the F-35, while remaining “affordable and traceable” enough to be risked in high-end combat.

They were designed keeping in mind a potential Indo-Pacific conflict, which would require the ability to maneuver in small island chains. (AI Shield)

Shield AI is in discussions with both the Air Force and Navy about integrating the X-BAT into future warfighting programs and with several allied militaries exploring joint development opportunities.

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Harris said the company views X-BAT as part of a generational shift toward distributed airpower, mirroring what SpaceX has done in space. “Historically, the United States has had a small number of highly capable and very expensive satellites,” he said. “Then SpaceX came along and rolled out hundreds of smaller, cheaper planes. The same thing is happening in air power. There will always be a role for manned platforms, but over time, they will be outnumbered by unmanned systems ten to one or twenty to one.”

For Harris, that shift is on the verge Restoring deterrence Through flexibility. “X-BAT presents an asymmetric dilemma for an adversary like China,” he said. “They don’t know where it’s coming from, and the cost of confronting it is high. It’s an important part of a broader joint force that is becoming significantly more lethal.