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Dragonfish Lite
Autel Robotics
Not yet assessed
- Height
- Length 2.3 m, Width 1.29 m, Height 0.46 m
- Payload
- —
- Verified autonomy
- not assessed
- Real deployment
- not assessed
- Status
- —
- Price
- —
Dragonfish Lite
Autel RoboticsThe Autel Dragonfish Lite is a tilt-rotor VTOL fixed-wing UAV designed for enterprise/professional applications including surveillance, public safety, energy, mining, and defense. It features approximately 75–81 minutes of flight endurance, a 30 km transmission range, 1–1.5 kg payload capacity, and a 9 kg MTOW with a 1600 mm wingspan. The Lite variant has been discontinued as of 2025, with support ending by December 2026. It operates autonomously for its surveillance/mapping tasks via waypoint missions, AI tracking, and terrain avoidance, with a human operator setting up and monitoring missions rather than performing the flight task itself.
Availability
Specification
- max_speed
- 30 m/s (108 km/h / 67 mph) in fixed-wing mode
- transmission_range
- 30 km (18.6 miles) with base station (FCC)
- max_takeoff_weight
- 9 kg
- airframe_weight
- 4.5 kg (including two batteries)
- dimensions
- Length 2.3 m, Width 1.29 m, Height 0.46 m
- payload_capacity
- 1–1.5 kg
- price_battery
- $1,250 per battery; $5,695 battery bundle pack
Price
No public price — contact the supplier for a quote.
Good · Bad · Ugly
Evidence-graded claims from the Autel Robotics deep report
Autel Robotics holds approximately 7% of the US UAV market and grew following US government restrictions on DJI.
Wikipedia (an independent secondary source) cites the ~7% US market share figure as of 2021 and links growth to DJI restrictions [14]; however, the figure is now several years old and no more recent independent market data is available in the dossier.
from Autel Robotics deep report →Autel Robotics was listed on the US Department of Defense Chinese military enterprise list on January 6, 2025.
Both Wikipedia [14] and Autel's own public statement [12] confirm the DoD listing as a factual event; Autel's denial of military ties is self-serving and does not alter the independently documented designation.
from Autel Robotics deep report →The EVO Max 4T and Autel Alpha are actively sold commercial products with confirmed retail pricing, representing Autel's fully commercial enterprise tier.
Autel Alpha is listed at $19,289 on both the official Autel shop and third-party retailer DroneNerds [5][9]; EVO Max 4N is listed at $8,899–$12,599 across Dronefly and DroneNerds [7][9] — independent retail listings confirm active commercial availability, though real-world deployment scale and customer outcomes remain unverified.
from Autel Robotics deep report →
The Autel Alpha achieves personnel recognition at ranges up to 8 km.
The 8 km personnel recognition figure appears only on Autel's official product page and a commerce listing (DroneNerds) [3][9] — both are vendor-aligned sources; no independent field test or third-party evaluation confirms this operational range.
from Autel Robotics deep report →The Autel Alpha is IP55-rated, operates from -4°F to 122°F, and carries a laser rangefinder accurate to ±1m within 400m — positioning it as a ruggedized enterprise platform.
Hardware specs are corroborated by both the official product page and a third-party retailer listing (DroneNerds) [3][9], lending moderate confidence, but no independent environmental or accuracy testing has verified these specifications in the field.
from Autel Robotics deep report →
Autel drones are a viable, production-ready alternative to DJI for professional UAV mapping and photogrammetry workflows.
Multiple independent Reddit communities focused on UAV mapping explicitly report photogrammetry surface quality issues, inconsistent support, and a clear preference for DJI over Autel for reliability in professional workflows [16][20][17] — Autel is described as a fallback, not an equal.
from Autel Robotics deep report →Several Autel product lines (EVO I, EVO III, EVO Nest 2, Apex, EVO Nano, EVO Lite) have been discontinued, raising concerns about long-term parts availability and support continuity.
Autel's own newsroom confirms the end-of-life status of these lines [11], and independent community users separately report difficulty obtaining spare parts and inconsistent support [15][18][19] — together these corroborate the concern, contradicting any implicit vendor claim of robust long-term support.
from Autel Robotics deep report →
About the company
Editorial directory of real robot products from leading global manufacturers. Each entry links to the manufacturer's official page.