Authors: Zeng Haoming, Jiang Yuepeng, Zhang Fengyuan, Zhao Wenbin
Quadcopter is also known as quadcopter and quadcopter, referred to as quadcopter and quadrotor. The four propellers of the quadcopter are all simple mechanisms that are directly connected to the motors, and the cross-shaped layout allows the aircraft to adjust its attitude by changing the speed of the motors to obtain the force to rotate the fuselage. The US Army Unmanned Aircraft Systems Project Management Office (PM UAS) has begun the transfer of field quadcopters to the troops. The first complex, supplied to the army, received the designation "Short-Range Reconnaissance System" (SRR). As an evergreen tree of civilian UAVs, does quadcopter have its own unique advantages over traditional UAVs in the military field? What are the deep tactical needs behind the US military's procurement of quadcopters? Can quadcopters become a new star in the field of military drones?
First, the Skydio X10D drone performance geometry
With the development of science and technology, drone technology has become an important tool in modern warfare and commerce. Skydio, one of the largest manufacturers of small UAVs in the United States, has been serving various branches of the US military for many years. The Skydio X10D drone, with its advanced technology and global autonomy, began deliveries to the U.S. military and government in February this year.
The Skydio X10D is a small drone with an integrated FLIR Boson+ sensor with high-quality thermal imaging and accurate radiation readings. With a maximum flight speed of 45 kilometers per hour, a deployment time of less than 40 seconds, it is IP55 certified, protects against dust and water, and has been added to the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) BlueUAS permission list. This designation from the U.S. Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) recognizes Skydio X10D's adherence to stringent security standards and its ability to increase operational effectiveness in a variety of defense scenarios. With the inclusion of the X10D on the Blue Drone List, procurement by government and defense entities has been simplified and accelerated.
Figure 1: Skydio X10D quadcopter drone
The Skydio X10D is the second generation of aircraft to qualify for the Blue Drone List after the Skydio X2D. The X10D meets or exceeds the stringent requirements of defense applications, providing all-domain, expendable autonomy through its computer vision platform, and is a key tool for enhancing operational efficiency and situational awareness across a wide range of defense scenarios.
The X10D is equipped with a 48MP telephoto camera and a Teledyne FLIR Boson+ sensor, capable of identifying people up to 2,400 feet away and vehicles up to 6,500 feet away. The Teledyne FLIR Boson+ is the industry's most accurate radiometric camera for both day and night use.
The X10D is also equipped with Skydio NightSense, the world's only on-board AI that supports autonomous flight in low-light or no-light environments. NightSense enables operators to fly confidently at night, avoiding obstacles even in complete darkness. And in dark mode, the X10D's lights are all turned off, ensuring that it cannot be seen by the naked eye under the cover of night.
With its powerful thermal camera, NightSense autonomous flight, and blackout mode, the Skydio X10D is the most capable group of drones for tactical night operations.
图2：搭载VT300-Z的Skydio X10D
At the same time, Skydio X10D also provides a suite of workflows, integrations, development tools and services Skydio Extend, which can connect the data captured by the drone to key systems and stakeholders, has good information sharing capabilities, and can be interconnected with other US military units on the battlefield to provide front-line situational awareness.
Overall, the Skydio X10D is a small drone with advanced technology and global autonomy for a wide range of defense applications and commercial sectors, providing users with greater flight performance and data collection capabilities.
Second, to the war - the unique advantages of quadcopter UAVs on the battlefield
As the most powerful military in the world today, the U.S. military is equipped with a full range of UAVs, including RQ-4A "Global Hawk", RQ-170 "Sentinel" and other large UAVs, including RQ-21A "Black Jack", RQ-7B "Shadow" and other medium-sized UAVs, and nearly platoon-level RQ-11 "Raven" small UAVs. I think there are several reasons for this:
Figure 3: RQ-170 large UAV
The first is the revelation of the Russian-Ukrainian battlefield. On the battlefield of Russia and Ukraine, both sides are equipped with a large number of quadcopters purchased from DJI, which play a key role in battlefield reconnaissance and artillery guidance. At the same time, the quadcopter UAV can hover over the target for a long time, in the close reconnaissance battlefield environment, identify and monitor the target object to provide intelligence information for the combat unit compared with the US military RQ-11 "Crow" has a greater advantage, Skydio X10D UAV is equipped with an intelligent obstacle avoidance system and high-performance thermal imaging system, the US military is equipped with Skydio X10D UAV, which will greatly enhance the all-weather battlefield situational awareness of the US military platoon unit.
Figure 4: The Russian army is training in drone operation
Secondly, the Skydio X10D drone is inexpensive, easy to carry, and simple to train. The drone was described in U.S. military testing as "an inexpensive, portable, vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) small unmanned aircraft that provides rapidly deployable intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities." Compared with the RQ-11 "Raven" UAV, which requires two soldiers to operate, the Skydio X10D UAV has a short training cycle, only one person is required to operate, and the UAV can be deployed in 75 seconds, with a total weight of less than 1.3 kg, which can be carried without increasing the load of individual soldiers.
Finally, it is in line with the future development direction of the US military itself. The U.S. Army's "Army 2030" construction goal states that the Army in 2030 must have six capabilities: perception, troop buildup, firepower strike, air, missile and drone defense, continuous operations in competitive terrain, and communications and data sharing. The SSR program is dedicated to combining smaller UAVs with smaller units to provide the US Army with valuable surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities, helping to prevent troops from being ambushed and avoiding threats altogether. The program will eventually fill the gap in the backpack portable unmanned aircraft system (RPUAS) and make up for the shortcomings of the U.S. military's current squad-level drone reconnaissance equipment. It will also help plan offensive battlefield movements, making it safer and more effective for frontline commanders to plan battlefield operations through real-time frontline information transmitted back from multiple squads. Ultimately, the goal of building a wider and more lasting range of perception will be achieved, and it will contribute to the development of a digital army.
Figure 5: Basic unmanned aerial system
3. The future is promising - quadcopters are widely used in countries around the world
Quadcopters are widely equipped with militaries around the world, and recently the U.S. Army began to receive field quadcopters, and the U.S. Army Unmanned Aircraft Systems Project Management Office (PM UAS) has begun to hand over field quadcopters to the troops. The first complex, supplied to the army, received the designation "Short-Range Reconnaissance System" (SRR). Skydio's SRR contract with the U.S. Army is valued at $99.8 million per year for the next five years. In addition to the 30 delivered to the campus in September, 480 are scheduled to arrive for deployment sometime in '25, the Army said. The service has purchased a total of 1,080 drones, which is expected to fill the gap in the lack of quadcopter drones in the US military squad units.
Figure 6: Thermal image of UAV reconnaissance backhaul
Quadcopters have not only gained favor in the U.S. military, but have begun to enter the army in the 20th century, and have played a major role in the Russian-Ukrainian war and become a highlight on the battlefield. Whether in reconnaissance, fire guidance and correction, or even simple bomb strikes, quadcopters represented by DJI drones are widely active in all aspects of the Russian-Ukrainian war. To a certain extent, this has stimulated the development and research of UAV operations in countries around the world, and it is foreseeable that UAV operations will be an irreplaceable part of the future battlefield. After the development of UAVs in recent years, the performance of UAVs has become more and more powerful, and in the future, the development of quadcopters will continue to develop in the direction of more maneuverable, more concealed and more accurate.
Figure 7: Drones are widely used in various aspects during the Russia-Ukraine war
On the whole, the U.S. military's procurement of military quadcopters Skydio X10D UAV is not only the tactical needs of the U.S. military for multiple asymmetric wars, but also the update and improvement of the battlefield situational awareness of the U.S. Army team units. At present, the Skydio X10D UAV put into use has won unanimous praise at the grassroots level of the US military, and countries around the world have also begun to actively develop similar products in this track, and the quadcopter UAV will have a good military prospect in the future.