Delair Unveils Fixed-Wing UAV for Agricultural Surveying

By Mike Ball / 06 Nov 2018

Smart Sourcing for Unmanned Systems

Discover cutting-edge solutions from leading global suppliers
SUPPLIER SPOTLIGHT
Follow UST

Delair UX11-Ag drone

Delair has announced the launch of a new drone platform specifically optimized for the agriculture industry, the Delair UX11 Ag. Built on the foundation of the successful Delair UX11 fixed-wing UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle), the new version combines the productivity benefits of long-range/BVLOS flight operations with highly accurate survey-grade mapping and plant data collection capabilities – to enable a new level of precision agriculture.

Find suppliers of Fixed Wing UAS >

The UX11 Ag’s enhanced centimeter-level geolocation, along with its efficient operational characteristics, make it an effective solution for large area farming and forestry. The drone includes sensing technologies and a multispectral camera for plant-level measuring, including bird level, biomass and chlorophyll. It supports a productivity-oriented workflow for long-range, multi-field and multi-flight operations. The precise automatic geolocation – PPK as you go – enables a perfect overlay of maps for temporal analysis or machine guidance. The drone enables real time review of data, providing even more efficiency for analyzing while in the field.

The Delair UX11-Ag is well suited for a range of large-scale agriculture activities, including inventory control to optimize operations management and crop planning, increased traceability for sustainability, health monitoring of crops and extraction of key production metrics, and crop response assessment in field trials and research. The system has been designed specifically for the diverse and often challenging environmental conditions of large-scale farming environments.

“The Delair UX11-Ag directly addresses an opportunity in the fast-growing agriculture and forestry segment with a solution that uniquely meets the productivity and ease-of-use requirements of these operations. It fills the void that exists between traditional small-scale solutions such as flight-time-limited quadcopters, and the limited resolution and agility through satellites,” said Michaël de Lagarde, co-founder and CEO of Delair. “We have built on a proven foundation of our UX11 model and created a platform that is both cost effective and high performing to deliver very precise and actionable insights for agricultural stakeholders of all kinds of crops.”

The Delair UX11 Ag reduces the amount of time and money required to provide detailed surveys of large- scale agriculture operations. For example, thanks to its long-range capabilities, the Delair UAV can typically cover up to 900 hectares in a single day with only six flights at 150-meter altitude. Its precise geolocation capabilities and wide area imaging technology further decrease operational costs. In addition, its ease of use makes it faster to set up and deploy, and with a rugged “ag-proof” design specifically built for the harsh operational challenges found in agriculture use cases, it lowers overall maintenance.

The Delair UX11 Ag features a fully integrated high-grade multispectral camera to see the plant level of most crops and provide high-quality agriculture data. The sensor generates plant health indexes and RGB (color) images and is calibrated for precise, repeatable measurements.

The UX11 Ag is an easy-to-assemble and easy-to-carry system, weighing in at 1.4 kg. Its dimensions and takeoff capabilities make hand launching possible. The UAV features BTOL (bird-like take-off and landing) for steep-climb take offs and descents in confined areas, reducing down time between flights and extending its use to challenging environments such as dense vegetation in plantations or forests.

Two communications options are available with the UX11 Ag: the Delair Link for 2.4 GHz wireless communications, allowing connections anywhere and a range of up to 5 km; and an integrated secure cellular connection on partner 3G and 4G networks, which reduces potential interference issues and allows longer range control, including BVLOS operations.

Posted by Mike Ball Mike Ball is our resident technical editor here at Unmanned Systems Technology. Combining his passion for teaching, advanced engineering and all things unmanned, Mike keeps a watchful eye over everything related to the unmanned technical sector. With over 10 years’ experience in the unmanned field and a degree in engineering, Mike’s been heading up our technical team here for the last 8 years. Connect & Contact

Latest Articles

UAVOS Tests New AI-Powered Software Platform for Drone Inspection

UAVOS has field-tested an AI-powered platform that automatically analyzes drone inspection data to identify anomalies, reducing report turnaround times by over 70%

Apr 28, 2025
TUALCOM Showcases Communications Solutions & RF Equipment at Defense Conference

TUALCOM participated in the Loitering Munitions Conference in Virginia, showcasing its latest technologies and sharing insights on future electronic warfare and navigation systems

Apr 28, 2025
Hitec Introduces Specialized Servos for Demanding Environments

Hitec will be releasing a new line of servos in 2025, featuring specialized models for redundant systems, underwater use, and drone applications

Apr 28, 2025
Acecore to Supply Tactical Quadcopter Drones for Dutch Military

Acecore Technologies is providing its Zoe M4 quadcopters to the Royal Netherlands Army, supporting bridge assessments and troop movements with real-time 2D and 3D mapping capabilities

Apr 28, 2025
First Orders Received for Teledyne Marine’s New Compact Navigator

Teledyne Marine's new low-SWaP, high-performance autonomous navigation system, the Compact Navigator, has secured its first significant order from Ashtead Technology

Apr 28, 2025
Advanced AI-Powered Drone, Autopilot & Hardware Solutions

Airvolute's open-architecture NVIDIA-based autopilots and UAS platforms have been utilized by NATO members as well as some of the world’s leading aerospace and defence companies

Apr 25, 2025

Featured Content

Apollo & Moonrock Launch $122.5m Drone, eVTOL Insurance Facility

Apollo and Moonrock take the lead on new $122.5m drone, eVTOL and aviation innovation insurance facility

Apr 22, 2025
ParaZero Unveils Advanced Parachute Recovery System

ParaZero launches the SafeAir M4, an advanced parachute recovery system designed for the DJI Matrice 4, enhancing drone safety, compliance, and mission readiness

Apr 17, 2025
Compact High Resolution MWIR Zoom Lens Released for UAV & ISR Platforms

MKS Instruments introduces the Ophir SupIR 10-135mm f/1.8 zoom lens, engineered for compact MWIR systems demanding long-range detection and high-resolution thermal imaging

Apr 17, 2025
Advancing Unmanned Systems Through Strategic Collaboration UST works with major OEMs to foster collaboration and increase engagement with SMEs, to accelerate innovation and drive unmanned systems capabilities forward.