Image: Shield AI
L3Harris Technologies and Shield AI have completed the first flight test pairing their electromagnetic battle management ecosystem with autonomous mission software, according to L3Harris. The demonstration marks a significant step towards fully autonomous electronic warfare operations.
Engineers flew the test aboard an L3Harris Green Wolf platform, building on a simulated trial conducted in February 2026. Unmanned aircraft systems detected, analysed and responded to electromagnetic threats without human intervention during the live test.
Shield AI’s Hivemind software, operating on board the Green Wolf, commanded the aircraft using threat data supplied by L3Harris’s DiSCO system. It autonomously rerouted follow-on unmanned aircraft through a safe operating zone, requiring no operator input throughout the mission.
Lauren Barnes, president of Spectrum Superiority, Communications & Spectrum Dominance at L3Harris, commented: “This successful demonstration shows how quickly we can transform concepts into operational capability for the joint force.” She added that pairing autonomous decision-making with spectrum battle management gives warfighters greater resilience and speed against evolving threats.
The test also featured L3Harris’s compact Deceptor electronic warfare payload, fitted to multiple unmanned aircraft. The mission validated each aircraft’s ability to sense and characterise unknown threats, then share that data through DiSCO in real time.
Christian Gutierrez, senior vice president of Hivemind at Shield AI, commented that the combined systems delivered capability neither company could achieve alone. He added that Hivemind compresses the sensor-to-decision cycle, letting autonomous systems sense, share and act on spectrum threats faster than before.
The trial further validates Green Wolf’s role as a multi-mission platform. L3Harris and Shield AI plan to expand mission applications through open architecture for electronic warfare at the tactical edge.
Read more on the Shield AI website
