High-altitude mine survey at about 4,500 m. Which drones are rated to fly that high?

Question

Rapidflare · Accepted Answer

Three drones are rated for 4,500 m or higher: the **Voliro T**, the **Skydio X10** and the **Skydio X10D**.

**Drones rated for 4,500 m or more**

| Drone | Manufacturer | Altitude rating | Operating temp | Flight time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Voliro T | Voliro | 5,000 m | -10 to 40 °C | 14 min |
| Skydio X10 | Skydio | 4,572 m | -20 to 45 °C | 40 min |
| Skydio X10D | Skydio | 4,572 m | -20 to 45 °C | 40 min |

- **Voliro T:** a tilt-rotor drone built for contact-based NDT inspection at height. It runs object detection on an onboard NVIDIA Jetson computer.
- **Skydio X10:** a compact autonomous drone for inspection, with modular visual/thermal sensor packages. It has an IP55 rating.
- **Skydio X10D:** the defense version of the X10, with Blue UAS clearance.

The Skydio X10 and X10D are rated at 4,572 m, so you'd have only about 70 m of margin above 4,500 m. The Voliro T, at 5,000 m, gives you more room. At that altitude it's also worth checking each drone's lowest operating temperature against conditions on site.

**Rated below 4,500 m (not suitable):**
- Quantum-Systems Vector AI: 4,000 m
- Skydio F10 Lightrunner: 3,352 m

**What I couldn't confirm:** only 5 of the 18 drones I have list an altitude rating. I couldn't find one for the other 13, so some of them might also handle 4,500 m, but I can't say which. The manufacturer or a Physical AI representative can confirm. The ratings also don't say whether they mean height above sea level or density altitude, so check that with the manufacturer before planning flights.

Drones rated to fly at about 4,500 m for a high-altitude mine survey

Sources

Drone	Manufacturer	Altitude rating	Operating temp	Flight time
Voliro T	Voliro	5,000 m	-10 to 40 °C	14 min
Skydio X10	Skydio	4,572 m	-20 to 45 °C	40 min
Skydio X10D	Skydio	4,572 m	-20 to 45 °C	40 min