Romanian Navy official injured by V-BAT propeller during training exercise
A Romanian Navy official lost two fingers and sustained a fracture when her hand was caught in a V-BAT propeller during a Shield AI training exercise off the Texas coast in May 2026. The incident is the second propeller-related injury involving the drone, and comes amid reports of over 50 crashes and safety complaints from staff members.
What happened
A Romanian Navy official's hand was caught in a V-BAT propeller on May 12 during a Shield AI training exercise on a boat off the Texas coast, severing two of her fingers and fracturing a third.
This incident followed a previous incident a year prior in which a U.S. Navy official's fingers were partially severed during a test of the V-BAT drone. Shield AI had responded to that incident by adding new landing gear and warning stickers near the propeller.
Reported impact
The Romanian Navy official sustained an injury resulting in the severing of two fingers and fracturing of a third.
Index analysis
Reuters found that the V-BAT has crashed more than 50 times over the past 18 months and that a Cessna plane with a Shield AI employee and his child aboard had to take evasive action to avoid a mid-air collision with a V-BAT.
Several staff members who raised safety concerns were dismissed according to interviews with 21 former employees, industry executives and investors.
Governance controls
Shield AI stated it had a strong safety record and defended the performance of its drones, saying 'operational mishaps are common' for a drone like V-BAT. The company said the drone had accumulated 18,000 flight hours since 2019.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.