There is a rising demand for American-made drones with the increasing concern about data privacy. American made drones are built to adhere to US regulations and standards, including those related to safety, privacy, and national security. For government agencies and other organizations that have strict requirements for their drone operations, the compliance of American-made drones is particularly crucial but it can also be front of mind for flying drones for mapping, using surveillance drones and drones for construction inspection.
In the non-commercial market, hobby drone buyers seek to avoid cheap mass-produced technology and support local businesses. This presents a significant obstacle for US drone manufacturers, as buyers are looking for locally made, high-quality drones without the hefty price tag. The extremely low prices offered by DEERC Drones and Holy Stone Drones are hard to beat.
In this article, I’ll go through how the US is encouraging the development of drone technology, the development of laws requiring American businesses to buy local and 5 American made drones.
US Regulations & Drone Manufacture in American
The government requires federal agencies to purchase domestic products and services whenever possible due to the Buy American Act. This means that federal agencies, including the military and other government organizations, are encouraged to purchase American-made drones.
Concerns about the vulnerabilities of information obtained by drones were bought to the forefront of media in 2017 and 2018 when the Pentagon extended a ban on the use of DJI drones across the US Armed Forces. More recently, in 2020 DJI were added to the US Entity List by the Industry and Security Bureau which is a list of businesses that have trade restrictions applied to them.
In support of this, the National Defence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 includes provisions that support the development and use of American-made drones for military purposes. The law includes funding for the development of new drone technologies and requires the Department of Defence to prioritize the use of American-made drones in its procurement processes.
The Department of Commerce also has programs in place to support the development of the US drone industry. For example, the Economic Development Administration (EDA) provides funding and technical assistance to support the growth of advanced manufacturing industries, including drone manufacturing. The EDA also supports the development of regional innovation clusters, which bring together businesses, universities, and government organizations to promote innovation and economic growth in specific regions.
Skydio 2+
Best American Made Drone for Enthusiasts
Most American made drones are designed for commercial and defence use, but the Skydio 2+ Pro is the exception. It’s a really diverse small drone that can be easily used for everything from photography and videography to 3D reconstructions depending on the package.
Skydio has been manufacturing drones since 2014 and is headquartered in California. They’re known for their advanced obstacle avoidance capabilities and ease of use. The Skydio 2+ has 360 degree obstacle avoidance, which is a big improvement on the DJI Mini 3 Pro, Phantom and Inspire. However, the obstacle avoidance coverage is better on the DJI Mavic 3 Classic which has omnidirectional obstacle avoidance and is in the same price bracket.
Main purpose: Recreation, mapping, search & rescue
Camera resolution: 4K
Range: 6km
Flight Time: 27 minutes
For everyday drone enthusiasts, the Skydio 2+Pro is equipped with a 4k camera capable of smart flight modes like orbit, motion track, rocket and dronie. For professionals, the Skydio 2+ Pro Enterprise is equipped with night vision and works with software such as PIX4D for mapping and surveying. The night vision capability is thanks to the FLIR sensor (320p) which is on the X2 thermal drone.
However, the Skydio 2+ Pro comes at a premium price that isn’t affordable for everyone. I go through my picks for the best drones for $50 to $500 in this article.
Vesper by Vantage Robotics
The most affordable commercial American made drone
In December 2020, Vantage Robotics launched Vesper, aimed at commercial drone pilots. This drone was selected as one of five UAS designated as a Blue sUAS, indicating its status as a preferred choice for US government departments. Despite being made in America, Vesper’s basic bundle is priced at $7700, which is significantly more affordable than other drones designed for use by the defence department.
- Drone Type: Indoor and outdoor surveillance and mapping
- Camera Quality: 4K
- Flight Time: 50 minutes with the recon rotor set
- Range: 25 miles (3 miles with radio range)
Despite being made in America, Vesper’s basic bundle is priced at $7700, which is significantly more affordable than other drones designed by use by defence department. Prior to Vesper, Vantage Robotics released one of the most affordable American made drones; Snap. It was available on pre-order for only $895.
This drone was aimed at recreational use as a prototype for the industrial/commercial version, Vesper. One way that Vantage Robotics made this drone more affordable is by designing it to be paired with any Bluetooth game controller, mobile phone or any 2 stick DSM controller rather than include a specifically designed controller.
Unfortunately, it’s no longer being manufactured so if you want to pick up one of these you’ll need to search second hand, refurbished versions.
Vesper drone being launched from it’s travel case.
With an IP rating of 53, the Vesper drone is weather protected (dust ingress protected and water resistant). It’s equipped with a telescopic lens that zooms up to 18x and a thermal camera.
The Vesper is also much quieter than most drones making it ideal for security and surveillance. It emits 37dBa at 80ft, for comparison a refrigerator emits 50 decibels so this drone is pretty stealthy.
Nova F7200 by Altavian
American Made Drone for 2D and 3D Mapping
Florida based Altavian are also committed to setting the bar for lower cost American made commercial drones. They have produced two drones both marketed just over $15,000 USD.
The Nova range is Altavian’s flagship product line which is designed for large-scale mapping, surveying and geomatic data acquisition projects. The most recent release is the F7200 which is fairly big and bulky, with the packaging alone over a meter long. When fully assembled this fixed-wing drone is hand launched and requires a 10x30m clearing for belly landing.
The Altavian F7200, has a maximum of 90 minutes flight time, 15 kilometres range and is designed to perform in challenging conditions including water landings.
When mapping, the Altavian is capable of covering 730 acres at 400’ AGL with 1-inch resolution.
Drone Type: Data acquisition for 2D and 3D maps (Large areas)
Weight: 18 pounds / 8.1kg
Camera Resolution: 18MP RGB and near-infrared imaging
Flight Time: 90 minutes
The F7200 can be used for thermal imaging and to generate plant health maps also known as NVDI, normalised differential vegetation index.
Galaxy R8700 by Altavain
The Galaxy R8700 is a multirotor so it has better manoeuvrability is small spaces than the Nova fixed wing. It was designed alongside the F7200 fixed wing to fit the same payloads but, due to the nature of multirotor drones, has a much shorter flight time.
Main Purpose: Data acquisition for 2D and 3D maps (small areas)
Weight: 11.1kg
Camera resolution: 18MP
Flight time: 25 minutes
The data from both the Nova and Galaxy drones can be combined in post-processing.
5. Indago 3 by Lockheed Martin (Nordic Unmanned)
Lockheed Martin is a global aerospace and defence company that manufactures a variety of unmanned aircraft systems for military and commercial applications. Their drones are manufactured in Marietta, Georgia and Palmdale in the US.
The Indago 3 is designed for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR). It costs $25,000 which might sound expensive but, this is a military-grade American-made drone. For comparison, the Scaneagle by Insitu cost 3.2 million back in 2006 and the Global Hawk High Altitude, Long Endurance Drone by Northrop Grumman cost around 99 million.
While the Indago 3 isn’t as compact as Skydio and Vesper, it still fits into a backpack and weighs less than 10 pounds.
- Main Purpose: Surveillance
- Flight time: 50-75 minutes
- Range: 10 km
- Multiple payload options: ION 30X Payload (30x optical zoom, 720 video, ), Noctis IR Payload (IR 640×512 video)
Wrap up on American Made Drones
Most drones being manufactured in America are designed for military use rather than regular drone enthusiasts. This is due to the US regulations and standards protecting data and the high cost of manufacturing in the US.
The Skydio is the best option for everyday drone enthusiasts who want to buy American made so they can get local support if needed, a better designed drone and higher manufacturing quality.
The Altavian drones are a good option for those that want an American made drone for mapping and surveying. The Galaxy multicopter is better for small areas, being a multirotor it has better manoeuvrability but a shorter flight time. Nova is best for surveying large areas but as a fixed wing drone needs suitable open space for belly landing.
For other commercial drones, check out: