- Pentagon places large order for Skydio X10D drones
- X10D has been used to identify targets in the Ukraine war
- DJI ban means US government departments must look elsewhere
The Pentagon just went from “we’d like to order some drones” to “here’s $52 million” in 72 hours. That’s less time than it takes most government departments to approve a new office coffee machine, but the US Army just placed the largest order for drones from a single supplier in US military history: just under 3,000 Skydio X10D drones at around $17,300 each.
Speed tells you everything you need to know about the urgency of this drone operation. Standard Pentagon procurement for contracts like this typically takes months, sometimes years.
Instead, the Army directed this through a commercial contracting vehicle specifically designed to reduce bureaucracy, clearly deciding that these drones needed to reach soldiers yesterday. Given that US forces are currently involved in a conflict in Iran, there are obvious reasons to hurry, although there is no evidence that they are heading there.
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In addition to a big drone order, this is a strong statement that DJI, the company that makes basically all consumer drones worth owning, has been completely locked out of the US military market.
And it’s not necessarily because Skydio makes better drones, but because DJI is Chinese, and in 2026, that’s a huge no-no for the US government.
What type of drones are they?
The X10D is a so-called “hunter” drone: a flying spotter that finds targets so other explosive-laden kamikaze drones can destroy them.
If you’ve been following the war in Ukraine, you’ve probably read about this hunter-killer combination. Cheap reconnaissance drones fly over the area in search of tanks, artillery positions or troop concentrations. Once they detect a suitable target, they transmit the coordinates to FPV racing drones equipped with munitions that finish the job.
It is devastatingly effective, terrifyingly efficient, and has practically redefined modern warfare. The US Army just ordered 3,000 of the hunter half of that equation.
The X10D itself is smart technology. Navigate using six cameras (three up, three down) that map terrain in real time, meaning you can fly and return home even when GPS is locked.
The multi-band radio hops frequencies to maintain connection on electromagnetically noisy battlefields. And the set of sensors is nothing to sneeze at: 48 MP telephoto lens, 50 MP wide angle, 64 MP narrow camera, not to mention the first thermal system in a small military drone with 640 x 512 resolution. All of that comes in a 2.1 kg package that fits in a backpack and launches in 40 seconds.
Analysis: How Skydio lost to DJI and then won anyway
Skydio couldn’t come close to beating DJI in the consumer market. After the launch of the Skydio 2+, which came with truly impressive autonomous flight technology, it broke the white flag and completely abandoned regular customers. DJI’s consumer alternatives were too good, too cheap, and too dominant.
Instead, Skydio shifted its focus to a much more lucrative market. While DJI was busy selling Minis and Mavics to photographers and hobbyists, Skydio was approaching the US government. And in February 2022, that strategy paid off when the Army chose Skydio as the sole supplier for its short-range reconnaissance program in a five-year deal worth just under $100 million.
Why Skydio? Here’s the simple reason: The Department of Defense, the FBI, and the Department of Homeland Security have declared Chinese drones a threat to national security.
Whether that’s completely fair or driven by genuine technical concerns is up for debate, but the practical result is that US government agencies can no longer purchase DJI drones, meaning Skydio essentially won by default. It’s like being the only restaurant in town open at 2 in the morning; It doesn’t have to be the tastiest or the best price, just be available.
And Skydio is very available. The company’s factory in California can produce drones on an impressive scale: although each X10D goes through 550 quality checks, one can be assembled every nine minutes. Current production is over 1,000 units per month, meaning this order for 3,000 drones represents only three months of production.
What happens next is the real question. Spain has already signed an $18.7 million deal with Skydio, Norway will receive its aircraft systems, and you can bet allied nations are following this order very closely.
For DJI, which has dominated the global consumer and professional drone markets for years, the message couldn’t be clearer: the US military has chosen someone else, and with geopolitical tensions as they are, that decision won’t be reversed anytime soon.
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