GE Aerospace and Shield AI announced on July 20, 2026, the completion of integration, actuation, and engine light-off testing of the Axisymmetric Vectoring Exhaust Nozzle (AVEN) on a GE F110-GE-129E engine for Shield AI's X-BAT aircraft1. Testing took place at GE Aerospace's facility in Peebles, Ohio, marking what the companies described as the first fully integrated AVEN test campaign since the 1990s. X-BAT is an AI-piloted strike fighter designed for vertical takeoff and landing without runways, with a stated combat radius of 1,000 nautical miles and internal carriage of weapons up to the 2,000-pound class. Flight testing is scheduled to begin later this year.