Skydio’s first fixed-wing drone does not look quite like a conventional aircraft, and that is by design. The F10 Lightrunner features an asymmetrical layout with its camera positioned outside the rotor plane, giving operators an unobstructed view during flight.
The unusual configuration is part of the company’s effort to combine fixed-wing endurance with autonomous operation.
Robotic Launch, Recovery
F10 Lightrunner extends Skydio’s robot offerings beyond the quadcopter for the first time to allow our customers in critical industries to fly farther and faster to respond to emergencies and issues that are necessary to keep our communities safe and our power on.
The aircraft is designed to launch and land from a MegaDock with a robotic arm and fly at speeds up to 100 mph with a 30-mile flight radius, giving a single launch location coverage of nearly 3,000 square miles. F10 is deploying to customers in 2027.
“F10 Lightrunner is the most advanced fixed-wing drone that has ever existed,”
said Adam Bry, CEO of Skydio.
“It will bring the benefits of Drone as First Responder and fully automated drone inspection of critical infrastructure to a scale that’s never been possible before, with 100 mph speed and up to a 30-mile coverage radius.”
F10 Lightrunner and MegaDock
F10 launches and lands without a ground crew, using a Robotic Takeoff and Landing (RTOL) system built around a suction-based robotic gripper. MegaDock, the dock built for F10, houses up to five aircraft and supports concurrent missions from a single location.
F10 was designed around one of the most critical components, the camera. Its SideEye design positions its camera outside the rotor plane, keeping the aircraft’s wing from blocking the video, allowing pilots continuous coverage that keeps their focus on the mission for safer outcomes.
Foresight, Skydio’s autonomy software built for fixed-wing flight, plans and adjusts F10’s flight path in real time to reduce the strain typically placed on pilots.
Additionally, the Skydio Airspace Assurance System (SAAS) eases use even more by maintaining regulatory compliance and collision avoidance throughout each flight.
Source: Skydio