Agricultural Field Scouting Drone Report (USA)

Mapping and scouting drones for sale in the United States with a published color, multispectral, or thermal camera for stand counts, crop-health maps, or prescription files. Multirotor, tailsitter VTOL, and hand-launch fixed-wing are here because that is how large-acre scouting is sold. A spray drone with an FPV camera is still a spray drone — it stays on the spray-drone table. No helicopters. No cinema or inspection ships. Price is the U.S. dealer ask for the aircraft plus the listed camera. Batteries, charger, software, and a tablet are extra unless the maker sells them as the kit. “Quote” means no published number. Tariff is the 9/3/2026 import rate: 100% over ~55 lb or with thermal, 25% on lighter imports without thermal, 0% on a U.S.-built finished airframe. Coverage numbers are published maxima at a stated altitude and overlap — not what you will get in wind. Scouting is not Part 137 spraying. Most of these aircraft are under 55 lb, so the usual ticket is Part 107 plus Remote ID. NDAA and Conditional Approval (CA) are not the same thing. CA marks follow FCC Public Notices at fcc.gov/supplychain/coveredlist. No row here has a verified CA. DJI sits on older FCC grants. U.S.-built and Blue/Green platforms show CA n/a.

Manufacturer	HQ / Origin	Model	NDAA / CA	Specifications	Price (Airframe + Sensor) / Tariff	Obstacle Avoidance	Notes
DJI	Shenzhen, China	Mavic 3 Multispectral	No NDAA No CA	Type Multirotor Sensors 20 MP RGB + 4×5 MP G/R/RE/NIR Cover up to ~495 ac / flight @ 400 ft Flight ~43 min GNSS RTK included	~$5,379–$5,919 Tariff 25%	Vision Omnidirectional binocular vision + downward IR	Highest-volume U.S. farm scout. 2.1 lb with RTK. Built-in sunlight sensor. Pre-12/22/2025 FCC grant, not a Conditional Approval. Still the default NDVI kit at ag dealers.
		Matrice 4E	No NDAA No CA	Type Multirotor Sensors 20 MP 4/3 wide + 48 MP mid + 48 MP tele Cover up to ~690 ac / flight published Flight 49 min GNSS Built-in RTK	~$5,099–$5,499 Tariff 25%	Vision LiDAR Omnidirectional vision with IR/LiDAR assist; laser rangefinder to 5,900 ft	RGB mapping successor to the compact Enterprise line — stand counts and orthos, not a multispectral array. ~2.6 lb. Mechanical-shutter 4/3 wide. Thermal siblings 4T / 4TD sit on the next rows.
		Matrice 4T	No NDAA No CA	Type Multirotor Sensors 48 MP wide/mid/tele + 640×512 thermal Cover inspection / heat maps, not a published acre figure Flight 49 min GNSS Built-in RTK	~$6,699–$7,849 Tariff 100%	Vision LiDAR Omnidirectional vision with IR/LiDAR assist; laser rangefinder to 5,900 ft	Foldable thermal scout. ~2.7 lb. Same zoom stack as 4E plus radiometric VOx thermal (UHR to 1280×1024). Irrigation, livestock, and equipment heat — not a calibrated NDVI array. Thermal puts a new import in the 100% band. Pre-12/22/2025 FCC grant, not a CA.
		Matrice 4TD	No NDAA No CA	Type Multirotor (dock) Sensors 48 MP wide/mid/tele + 640×512 thermal Cover inspection / heat maps, not a published acre figure Flight 54 min GNSS Built-in RTK	~$7,599–$7,640 airframe Tariff 100%	Vision LiDAR Omnidirectional vision with IR/LiDAR assist; laser rangefinder to 5,900 ft	Fixed-arm, IP55 Dock 3 sibling of the 4T. ~4.1 lb with battery. Same thermal/zoom head; not the 4E mapping wide. Aircraft-only dealer tags near $7,600; Dock 3 is a separate ~$15,890 box. 100% thermal tariff on a new import.
EagleNXT	Allen, TX / Lausanne	eBee X	NDAA CA n/a	Type Hand-launch fixed-wing Sensors S.O.D.A. / Aeria X / Duet M / Sequoia+ Cover 550–1,235 ac @ 400 ft Flight up to 90 min GNSS RTK / PPK	Quote (~$15,000 class) Tariff 25%	Ground LiDAR (to 394 ft) published; no omni suite	2.9–3.5 lb. Up to 90 min with endurance battery. FAA Operations Over People path on eBee X. Blue UAS listing is the TAC sibling, not this civil X. Airframes built in Lausanne; U.S. HQ moved to Allen, TX in 2026.
Hylio	Richmond, TX, USA	PHOTON	NDAA CA n/a	Type Multirotor Sensors Dual RGB 4K; opt. MS / thermal Cover not a published acre figure Flight 35–55 min GNSS RTK to 0.6 in	~$12,398–$15,293 kit Tariff 0%	Radar Omni radar claimed to 65 ft	The scout that was kept off the spray table. MTOW 7.7 lb. Optional Sentera 6X, MicaSense RedEdge-P, FLIR Hadron 640R. Thermal add-on can change the import story on a spare payload, not the U.S.-built airframe. Pairs with PEGASUS / ARES / ATLAS in AgroSol.
Inspired Flight	San Luis Obispo, CA, USA	IF800 + Sentera 6X	NDAA CA n/a	Type Multirotor Sensors Sentera 6X (5×3.2 MP MS + 20 MP RGB) Cover not a published acre figure Flight up to 54 min GNSS RTK / PPK kit	~$32,825–$51,050 kit Tariff 0%	Not published in detail	Blue UAS + Green UAS. 6.6 lb payload, dual hot-swap batteries, MTOW 25.3 lb. Primary NDAA path for USDA / university plots that cannot fly DJI. 6XT-640R thermal bundle exists and would be a different tariff conversation on the payload.
Quantum-Systems	Gilching, Germany	Trinity Pro	NDAA CA n/a	Type eVTOL fixed-wing Sensors Sony RGB / Altum-PT / Qube 640 LiDAR Cover up to 1,730 ac / flight Flight 90 min GNSS PPK	~$21,260–$24,160 Tariff 25%	Not published in detail	MTOW 12.7 lb. U.S. dealers list Green UAS and Blue UAS on Trinity Pro; Vector (the ISR sibling) is the better-documented Blue listing. Moorpark, CA integration shop opened 2025. Altum-PT adds thermal — that kit is the 100% tariff band.
Wingtra	Zurich, Switzerland	WingtraOne GEN II	NDAA CA n/a	Type Tailsitter VTOL Sensors RGB61 / MAP61 / RedEdge-P / LiDAR Cover up to 1,140 ac @ 400 ft Flight up to 59 min GNSS PPK, ~1.2 in RMS	~$19,900 base; $35k–$85k sensor kits Tariff 25%	Published OA on the airframe; suite not itemized here	MTOW 10.6 lb. Survey-grade farm mapper sold through U.S. dealers (RDO and others). Blue UAS status was contested after the 2025 DIU refresh — NDAA claim is unchanged; verify the DCMA portal before a federal buy. WingtraRAY is the newer flagship and is not a separate row yet.

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Manufacturer Summaries — U.S. Outlook, Next 12 Months

Scouting is the cheap half of the farm-drone stack: Part 107, under 55 lb, and a sensor instead of a tank. The same Covered List, tariff, and Docket 26-189 fight still decides who can restock. Spray rows stay on the spray-drone table.

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DJI

Founded 2006 · Shenzhen · Flagship scout: Mavic 3 Multispectral

Mavic 3M is still the default U.S. farm scout — foldable, RTK, four calibrated bands plus RGB, and a dealer who already sold the grower a T50. Matrice 4E is the RGB mapping follow-on for stand counts and orthos. Matrice 4T adds the radiometric thermal head on the same compact folding airframe; 4TD is the fixed-arm, IP55 Dock 3 version of that thermal kit.

Recent Changes: Covered List hit 12/22/2025. M3M and the Matrice 4 family stay legal to sell from pre-cutoff grants. 25% tariff on sub-55 lb, non-thermal imports (M3M, 4E) started 9/3/2026. 4T and 4TD carry thermal, so a newly imported finished aircraft is in the 100% band. U.S. dealers list 4T near $6,700–$7,850 and 4TD aircraft-only near $7,600.

Outlook: Next-12-month U.S. unit sales look like leftover authorized airframes. Docket 26-189, if adopted as written, would reach thermal, LiDAR, docks, and already-authorized foreign aircraft — that hits 4T / 4TD and Dock 3 first. M3M itself is RGB+MS, not thermal, but the family sits inside the same company fight.

Positives: Lowest published kit prices on this table. Largest U.S. parts and training bench. SmartFarm / Terra path into Agras variable-rate jobs. 4T is the compact heat-scout when a grower already owns the remote.

Hurdles: No NDAA, no CA. 25% restock tariff on M3M / 4E; 100% on 4T / 4TD. Federal and university plots cannot buy it. 4T / 4TD are inspection thermals, not a four-band NDVI array. If 26-189 lands on “already authorized” imports, leftover inventory stops at the dock.

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EagleNXT

Founded 2010 (senseFly 2009) · Allen, TX / Lausanne · Flagship civil mapper: eBee X

The eBee line is the lightest long-endurance farm mapper on this page. Hand-launch, belly landing, 90 minutes, and a swap-in Duet M or Sequoia+ for NDVI. Sensors still come out of Wichita; airframes still come out of Lausanne.

Recent Changes: Brand now trades as EagleNXT. HQ shift from Wichita to Allen, Texas announced January 2026. eBee TAC remains the Blue-listed sibling; eBee X is NDAA-claimed and the FAA Operations Over People civil airframe. 25% import tariff attaches to a Swiss-built finished wing.

Outlook: Survives 26-189 better than a Covered List quad if the NDAA claim holds. Next year is keep U.S. ag dealers stocking X kits — and not let the TAC / X listing split confuse a grower who only needs acres, not a DoD SKU.

Positives: Coverage per flight that no multirotor on this page matches. Under 4 lb. OOP path. Real U.S. sensor plant.

Hurdles: Thin consumer-ag brand after years of public-company noise. Blue listing is TAC, not X. Swiss build takes the 25% tariff. Belly landing wants a clear strip.

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Hylio

Founded 2015 · Richmond, Texas · Flagship scout: PHOTON

PHOTON is the U.S.-made scout that pairs with the spray fleet already on the spray-drone table. Dual 4K RGB out of the box; Sentera, MicaSense, and FLIR hang on the optional industrial gimbal. AgroSol is the same ground station as PEGASUS / ARES / ATLAS.

Recent Changes: PHOTON moved from “coming” copy to published spec sheets and dealer kits in the $12k–$15k band. ARES joined Blue UAS in April 2026; PHOTON rides the same Texas NDAA story. No CA needed.

Outlook: Strongest 12-month U.S. setup on this list if the buyer already sprays with Hylio or cannot touch DJI. U.S.-built airframes sit outside the 9/3 import tariff. Demand is a function of how fast Richmond can build airframes, not of a new FCC grant.

Positives: True U.S. manufacture. NDAA. Same app as the spray drones. Open payload list.

Hurdles: Not a calibrated four-band array out of the box — MS is an add-on. Dealer density still thinner than DJI. Thermal payload kits are a separate 100% tariff conversation if that gimbal is imported.

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Inspired Flight

Founded 2017 · San Luis Obispo, California · Flagship ag kit: IF800 + Sentera 6X

The IF800 Tomcat is the U.S.-built quad that university and USDA plots actually specify when NDAA is in the RFP. Sentera 6X is the science-grade multispectral payload; 65R covers high-res RGB phenotyping.

Recent Changes: Blue UAS and Green UAS listings held through 2026. Published ag bundles run from the low $30ks (Herelink + 6X) into the $50k GS-One / extra-battery kits. No import duty on the finished airframe.

Outlook: Wins the federal-adjacent acre that DJI is locked out of. Next year is keep Sentera integration tight as Sentera itself leans harder into Deere analytics, and do not let kit pricing drift so far above M3M that private agronomists bounce.

Positives: NDAA + Blue + Green. Open payload bus. Hot-swap batteries. U.S. factory and training in SLO.

Hurdles: Five to nine times an M3M. Obstacle-avoidance suite is thinly published. Not a one-person fold-in-the-back-seat scout.

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Quantum-Systems

Founded 2015 · Gilching, Germany · Flagship mapper: Trinity Pro

Trinity Pro is the long-endurance eVTOL that covers a section in one battery. RGB, Altum-PT multispectral-plus-thermal, and Qube 640 LiDAR swap in the same bay. U.S. integration now runs through Moorpark, California.

Recent Changes: Dealers advertised Green UAS and Blue UAS on Trinity Pro in 2026; Vector (ISR) is the listing with the cleanest DoD paper. Series D in July 2026 valued the company near $8 billion. 25% tariff on the imported 12.7 lb airframe.

Outlook: Allied-origin plus a California shop is the proposed 26-189 off-ramp. Next year is convert defense-scale capital into U.S. ag dealer depth — Trinity is still easier to find at a survey shop than at a co-op.

Positives: 90 minutes and 1,730 published acres. NDAA-aligned supply chain. Real U.S. footprint. Sensor menu that includes farm-grade Altum-PT.

Hurdles: Import tariff. Altum-PT thermal kit is the 100% band. Blue listing language is cleaner on Vector than on Trinity — verify before a federal PO. Price sits above M3M by a wide gap.

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Wingtra

Founded 2016 · Zurich · Flagship still sold into U.S. ag: WingtraOne GEN II

Tailsitter VTOL: vertical takeoff, fixed-wing cruise, survey-grade PPK. RGB61 / MAP61 for orthos, RedEdge-P for crop indices, optional LiDAR. U.S. ag channel includes RDO and specialist survey dealers.

Recent Changes: WingtraRAY launched as the next platform; GEN II remains the in-stock farm mapper. Blue UAS status was publicly contested after the 2025 DIU refresh — Wingtra said NDAA did not change. Base kit still quoted near $19,900; full sensor packages run into the mid-five figures.

Outlook: Swiss origin plus NDAA components is a better 26-189 seat than a Covered List quad. Next year is keep GEN II on U.S. dealer floors while RAY takes the high-end survey dollar, and settle the Blue listing in writing for any federal-adjacent farm buyer.

Positives: Accuracy and coverage that beat every multirotor here. Swap-in RedEdge-P. Broad U.S. survey dealer bench.

Hurdles: 25% tariff. Blue listing is not a fact to print without checking DCMA. Tailsitter wants a clear pad. Not a walk-the-pivot scout — it is a mapping airplane.