Shield AI, the deep-tech company building state-of-the-art autonomy software products and aircraft, announced the successful demonstration of key mission-autonomous capabilities using Hivemind as part of a demo series for the Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD).
The demonstrations, conducted from August 12–14, 2025 in Himachal Pradesh, used Shield AI’s Nova 2 quadcopter equipped with Hivemind, the company’s autonomy software. Over three days of hands-on flight training and system presentations to Indian Special Forces from both the Army and the Air Force, Hivemind showcased fully autonomous as well as AI-assisted, human-piloted operations 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 Mr. Sarjan Shah, Managing Director – India, 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,” added Mr. Shah.
Hivemind enables unmanned systems to perform complex missions in contested environments and is designed for modular integration across platforms, including V-BAT, Shield AI’s Group 3 unmanned aerial system currently under consideration by the Indian Army and Air Force. Lessons from Nova quadcopter deployments have also supported Hivemind’s integration onto larger platforms like the F-16 and MQ-20 Avenger.
This successful demonstration reinforces Shield AI’s role in advancing India’s defence capabilities and builds on the company’s November 2024 strategic partnership with JSW Defence Pvt. Ltd. to indigenize and manufacture V-BATs in India.
