The brief
- Skydio won a $52 million US Army order for 2,500+ X10D drones in March 2026, the largest single-vendor small-drone purchase in Army history.
- Skydio's X10D operates autonomously without GPS using onboard visual navigation, critical for GPS-denied combat zones.
Technical approach
Computer Vision
Obstacle avoidance AI
Skydio's core technology is computer vision that enables drones to see and avoid obstacles autonomously, without relying on GPS.
Military Hardening
GPS-denied operations
The X10D is built for contested environments where GPS is jammed; it navigates and communicates using visual odometry and local wireless links.
Sensors
Thermal and optical imaging
High-resolution visual cameras paired with radiometric thermal imaging for day and night reconnaissance.
