Foldable & Backpack Drones

Find Backpack Drone manufacturers and suppliers of one-person portable, foldable drones including folding multirotors and fixed-wing UAV for military and commercial applications
Overview Foldable & Backpack Drones
By Technology Editor Last updated: October 20th, 2023

Portable Drones & UAV

X-LITE Folding UAV for Rapid Deployment by Plymouth Rock Technologies

X-LITE Folding UAV for Rapid Deployment by Plymouth Rock Technologies

Foldable drones and UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) are engineered for maximum portability, with a design that allows them to be stored and carried in a smaller footprint than the space taken up when deployed for flight.

Most folding drones are small quadcopter or hexacopter multirotor drones that are designed to fit in a convenient transportation method such as a proprietary case or standard airline carry-on baggage. Some foldable fixed-wing UAV designs do exist, with wings that can be folded back against the body so that the drone can be packed more easily into a crate.

Folding Drones – Multirotors & Quadcopters

Spirit UAS Modular Backpack Drone by Ascent AeroSystems

Spirit UAS Modular Backpack Drone by Ascent AeroSystems

The arms of folding multirotor drones may fold against or underneath the body, and propellers may also fold or have to be removed manually. The manner in which the arms are folded may also provide enhanced protection for the drone’s payload gimbal during transit.

Backpackable & One Person Portable

Folding drones may also be designed to fit into a backpack, making them one-person portable. Backpackable drones may also take the form of other designs, such as multirotor drones with removable or spring-loaded arms, and fixed-wing drones with removable wings. The drone backpack may also be used to carry additional equipment such as spare batteries and propellers, chargers, and swappable payloads.

SkyRobot FX10 Fixed-Wing Hand-Launched UAV by Robot Aviation

SkyRobot FX10 Fixed-Wing Hand-Launched UAV by Robot Aviation

In addition to enhanced portability, backpackable drones with removable arms have the advantage of being convenient to repair, as the modular design allows faulty parts to be easily replaced. Removable and spring-loaded arms are also less likely to snap under rough transport conditions.

Commercial & Military Applications

Backpackable drones, including multirotor drones and hand-launched fixed-wing drones, are used for a wide range of applications, including mapping and surveying, aerial photography, military ISR (intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance), and search and rescue (SAR). Tube-launched backpack drones are also used by the military as a form of non-reusable loitering munitions capability.

Alta X Folding Quadcopter by Freefly Systems

Alta X Folding Quadcopter by Freefly Systems

Products (6)

Trace UAS

Pocket-sized NDAA-compliant nano-drone for aerial reconnaissance

Pocket-sized NDAA-compliant nano-drone for aerial reconnaissance
...sion2 GCS, the foldable drone can be carried in a backpackable IP67-rated carrying case with a total...
Spirit Coaxial Rotor VTOL UAS

Modular coaxial drone with compact cylindrical airframe

Modular coaxial drone with compact cylindrical airframe
... the versatile drone can be carried in a backpack and quickly and easily deployed for a wide variety... ... bottom of the drone. This allows the UAS to be configured for a range of missions with versatility...
Black Widow Multirotor UAS

Portable sUAS for short-range ISR & electronic warfare

Portable sUAS for short-range ISR & electronic warfare
... UAS-certified drone system is part of Red Cat's Arachnid Family of Systems, which has been...
C100 Heavy-Lift Quadcopter

Foldable long-endurance heavy payload drone

Foldable long-endurance heavy payload drone
...ght and power) drone easily folds down into a small rucksack and can be deployed and airborne in...
AiDEN

Compact autonomous drone with advanced computer vision

Compact autonomous drone with advanced computer vision
...om traditional drones that rely on bulky LiDAR sensors. Instead, it leverages Nearthlab’s patented...
Acecore Zoe Quadcopter

Portable quadcopter for high wind inspection, security and mapping.

Portable quadcopter for high wind inspection, security and mapping.
...ble quadcopter drone with a foldable design for easy transportation and deployment. With a maximum...

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