Our UAS2025 competition aircraft
Autonomous precision, proven in the field.
The autonomous folding X-quadcopter flown at SUAS 2025, with a carbon-fibre airframe, Pixhawk and Jetson autonomy, HobbyWing X8 propulsion, aerial mapping, and winch-based payload delivery.
Live flight test footage · Shadow
01Key specifications
XquadcopterAirframe
FullAutonomy
Shadow
Built, tested, and flown.
Swipe sideways for more
SUAS 2025 recap
Shadow at competition.
Follow the team from field preparation through its first international outing.
02Technical specifications
By the numbers.
Airframe
- Configuration
- X-quadcopter
- Frame
- Carbon-fibre center plates and arms, with fabricated folding joints
- Build philosophy
- Folding, modular, and designed for transport
Avionics & Autonomy
- Flight controller
- Pixhawk Cube Orange running ArduPilot
- Companion computer
- NVIDIA Jetson Orin Nano
- Telemetry
- Holybro P900
- Software
- ArduPilot, ROS 1 Noetic, and MAVROS
Power & Propulsion
- Battery
- 12S system using two 6S LiPo batteries in series
- Propulsion
- HobbyWing X8 propulsion system
- Propellers
- 3011 propellers
Payload & Sensing
- Imaging
- Arducam IMX477
- Ranging
- Lightware SF45/B LiDAR
- Delivery
- Electronically controlled winch with a backup release mechanism
- Mapping
- Aerial orthophoto mapping using AutoStitch and WebODM
03Key components
What's inside.
Next on the bench
Its successor is flight qualified.
The 2026 airframe carries the autonomy stack forward for Storm Response at SUAS 2026. The field notes track every design decision along the way.
View the 2025 Technical Design ReportSee the 2026 UAV