Channel-Switching System Hardens X10D's Performance in the 'Battlespace'

Skydio announced that customers have begun receiving the first of its X10D, its flagship defense and government drone.

The announcement follows the successful rollout of the older X2D, which has seen thousands of systems delivered across the USA and its allies around the world. Taking hard-won lessons from back East, the X10D ships with a dynamic channel switching system to constantly maintain a clear comms frequency during flight, ideally allowing troops to remain in contact with the X10D even in contested, electromagnetically messy environments.

The battlespace (a cringe-inducing but undeniably cool phrase) of Eastern Europe has taught many lessons to those willing to pay attention, and Skydio seems to be a pretty good student. The X10D offers clients a small, compact, and offline-ready iteration of the firm's trustworthy X10 UAV, blending the proven little drone with improved ISR capabilities and offline performance that allows it to continue the mission even without an operator guiding it every step of the way. The autonomous drone can navigate, spectate, scry, and return even without a consistent command and control signal. Skydio's inclusion of their 'Autonomy' platform and 'NightSense' make the X10D "the 1st sUAS capable of 24/7 operations" thanks to its obstacle avoidance, thermal vision, and baseline intelligence. 

“The arrival of X10D to customers is truly a milestone moment for Skydio and the allied defense and government community,” said Mark Valentine, President of Global Government at Skydio. “There is no doubt that the advantage in future conflict favors a decentralized application of small, many, and agile systems over fewer, larger exquisite systems. The X10D, with dynamic channel switching and onboard AI & Autonomy, is a force multiplier for warfighters that helps them see the unseen, increasing awareness, precision, and safety.”

FMI: www.skydio.com