Silicon Valley-based drone company “SiFly” emerged from stealth earlier this year with impressive claims about its capabilities. Compared to popular models from China drone maker “DJI,” SiFly claims its drones offer up to four times the flight endurance and ten times the operational range, enabling operations that require persistent coverage or long-distance travel without battery swaps or dock networks, which ticks a lot of boxes for agriculture. Even more enticing, SiFly claims its drones can do all this at prices comparable to its Chinese competitor.
SiFly exited stealth mode in early May with the unveiling of two new drones – the Q12 and Q250.
Q12 is an all-electric dronethat can hover for 2 hours, fly forward for up to 3 hours, and travel 90 miles while carrying a 10-pound load. It’s built for Beyond Visual Line-of-Sight (BVLOS) tasks like checking infrastructure, mapping, or Drone-as-First-Responder (DFR) programs, with a claimed 90% cost cut per square mile for DFR work. Deliveries for the Q12 are expected to begin by the end of 2025.
Q250 is a heavy-duty drone that can lift 200-pound loads for 100 minutes, aimed at jobs like logistics, putting out fires, or spraying crops, possibly taking over from expensive helicopters. The model has a capacity of 30 gallons, more than double what DJI’s core ag spray model can carry. The Q250 is set for launch in 2026.
SiFly says it is able to deliver high-end capabilities at a fraction of the cost, thanks largely to its innovative design. As SiFly Chief Business Officer Logan Jones explained to AgFunder, “We’ve been talking to people in agriculture, public safety, you name the market segment, and what is clear is that they really want a helicopter… but with the usability and economics of a drone.”
Unlike DJI drones, which typically require multiple batteries and have strict limits on range due to regulatory and power constraints, SiFly’s drones are purpose-built for long-endurance missions — all while staying tethered to a cloud-based AI system for real-time data delivery. They’ve tested the Q12 with partners like Amaral Ranches in California for farming insights using onboard AI and connected data streams.
The relatively large size of SiFly’s batteries is one of two main drivers behind its superior level of endurance, Jones said. Whereas batteries make up about 30% to 35% of the weight of most multi-rotor drones, they are responsible for over 60% of SiFly’s weight. The ideal ratio is 66%, Jones notes. “What that means is, right off the bat, we have twice the available energy of any other system to be able to convert into flight.”
The other driver of SiFly’s performance is its weight-to-lifting-surface ratio. The drones have large, helicopter-like blades that lie much flatter than those of traditional multi-rotors, in addition to the relatively aerodynamic shape of the overall platform. Another attribute unique to SiFly’s drones is its patented “torque rotor design,” which allows them to go from a relatively small 30-pound takeoff weight to potentially hundreds of pounds.
Another feature is the ability of the drone blades to auto-rotate like those of a helicopter. This allows the aircraft to slowly descend in a controlled manner in the event of a power failure instead of just falling from the sky, which “opens up a new safety paradigm” for larger unmanned systems, says Jones.
SiFly will conduct beta testing in the third quarter to collect user feedback and continue optimizing performance as they prep for production. Information on pricing and purchase availability is expected to be released this summer. Experts say that if SiFly’s performance claims hold up, they are truly sitting on revolutionary technology advances in energy storage, propulsion, and aerodynamics. Not surprisingly, there is a lot of skepticism among many of these same experts that SiFly drones have achieved the radical leap in performance that the company claims, especially at the price levels it says they will be offered.
For farmers and others who use Chinese drones, SiFly’s new drones may come just in the nick of time. It’s not clear whether DJI and other China-based drone makers will be able to continue selling their products in the U.S. beyond 2025 due to national security concerns. You can learn more at SiFly’s website HERE( Sources: AgFunder, New Atlas, DroneDJ)
