Leonardo has partnered with US defence technology company Shield AI to integrate its Hivemind autonomy software into the development of autonomous mission capabilities for the Proteus unmanned helicopter demonstrator. The collaboration will involve incorporating Hivemind’s Software Development Kit into Leonardo’s autonomy development process, providing engineers with tools to develop and adapt mission capabilities for rotary-wing aircraft. Planned applications include anti-submarine warfare, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, and logistics operations in contested environments, with Leonardo also exploring opportunities to extend the technology to other helicopters in its portfolio. Proteus is a vertical takeoff and landing uncrewed aircraft developed by Leonardo in cooperation with the Royal Navy and UK Defence Innovation under the Rotary Wing Uncrewed Air System technology demonstrator programme. Shield AI has been expanding Hivemind’s applications across multiple unmanned platforms through international partnerships. In October, the company signed an agreement with Australia’s Innovaero Technologies to integrate the software into its OWL family of loitering munitions, supporting coordinated missions involving multiple aircraft in environments with degraded GPS signals or communications. During the same month, Shield AI partnered with Rheinmetall Barzan Advanced Technologies to explore integrating Hivemind into Qatari-designed unmanned surface vessels for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance operations. These agreements followed an August demonstration in Taiwan with Thunder Tiger, where multiple unmanned surface vessels were coordinated during a simulated surveillance mission. Earlier, in March, Shield AI and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries tested the software on two autonomous drones in Japan, demonstrating target-tracking capabilities. The Leonardo partnership further expands Hivemind’s potential applications across aerial and maritime platforms, highlighting growing interest in autonomous systems for complex military operations.
