Shield AI and Innovaero Technologies have announced a collaboration to give the Australian Defence Force (ADF) greater strike capability. Innovaero is an Australian defence and aerospace technology and manufacturing company which works on precision loitering munition systems.
“Shield AI has a proven track record of integrating Hivemind across a wide range of platforms and operational environments,” CEO of Innovaero, Greg Tunny, said.
“That experience makes Shield AI an ideal partner as we collaborate to bring advanced mission autonomy to the OWL family. Together, we are accelerating an Australian-designed capability while preserving Australia’s control over its critical defence technologies.”
Under a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), Shield AI will integrate its Hivemind mission autonomy software on Innovaero’s One-Way Loitering (OWL) family of precision munitions.
OWL munitions are designed to efficiently identify, track and strike targets. Hivemind will enable faster mission planning and increased lethality in OWL’s attacks.
Hivemind has already been integrated onto Innovaero's OWL-B aircraft ahead of flight testing. Multi-agent coordinated strike missions are being simulated in dynamic conditions with commands issued through the Android Team Awareness Kit (ATAK) tactical interface.
“Innovaero combines deep expertise in loitering munitions with a strong commitment to building sovereign capability in Australia,” vice president of Hivemind for Australia, Asia and the Middle East at Shield AI, Adam Hogan, said.
“By integrating Hivemind into the OWL family, we will help the ADF plan and execute missions faster, coordinate multiple aircraft and operate when GPS or communications are degraded. This collaboration will also give Australia greater control over how that autonomy is developed, tested and fielded.”
According to Shield AI, Hivemind reroutes mission plans, responds to unexpected conditions, avoids obstacles, and executes complex tasks safely and effectively. Operating as an edge AI capability, it supports platform autonomy when communications are denied, degraded, intermittent, or limited.
Hivemind has piloted more than 40 classes of vehicles including F-16s, Group 5 Collaborative Combat Aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), helicopters, drone boats, one-way attack drones, and ground vehicles.
Hivemind was most recently integrated onto the Destinus Hornet loitering munition in the space of two months, with teams from Australia supporting successful flight tests in Spain.
Innovaero’s OWL family are entirely Australia-designed, one-way loitering munitions.
In March 2025, Innovaero announced upgraded guidance capabilities for its flagship OWL-B precision loitering munition, and the first test demonstrator of the OWL-X variant.