The new Sprayhawk drone, designed by Rotor Technologies Inc. in New Hampshire, is the world’s largest agricultural drone. With a 110-gallon (500 liters) capacity and a spray rate of 240 acres per hour, it offers unmatched efficiency. Recently launched for $900,000, this UAV is set to revolutionize large-scale farming.
Technical Features
The machine is based on a full-sized Robinson R44 helicopter. But this unmanned aircraft has a particularity. A two-man operator crew controls it from the ground.
With 33-foot (10m) spray booms, the Sprayhawk can take off and land vertically. It features an autonomous spray path and terrain following algorithms. A camera and LIDAR sensors enable detecting wires and avoiding obstacles.
Powering the Sprayhawk is a Lycoming six-cylinder aviation engine that can propel a spray rate of over 80 miles per hour. It boasts a flight time of 50 minutes between refueling.
For Rotor’s CEO Hector Xu, the Sprayhawk matches the spray speed and capacity of manned aircraft while offering significantly lower operating costs and improved safety:
“The Sprayhawk represents a significant leap forward in agricultural aviation. We’ve combined the capabilities of a full-scale helicopter with the cost-effectiveness and safety of a drone. There’s nothing else on the market that’s as productive, reliable, and future-proof as this.”
Rotor was founded by a team of MIT aerospace engineers and aerospace industry veterans. The company manufactures the most capable commercial UAVs in the world, designed for challenging and dangerous missions like crop dusting, aerial firefighting, and utility work.
Commercialization
The company says its first Sprayhawk production aircraft has been completed. It will undergo ground testing ahead of delivery to an agricultural partner in the US Midwest later this year.
Rotor Technologies will deliver the first production of Sprayhawks to early-access partners in spring 2025. These drones will begin commercial spraying operations during the 2025 corn run.
Customers in the US and Brazil will be able to place orders first for the 2025 Sprayhawks with a limited number of 15 aircraft scheduled for the first production run.
Each customer will receive a ready-to-spray pack which includes the Sprayhawk UAV, a 110-gallon tank and 33-foot spray boom system, a helicopter transport trailer, and a ground control station.
Ben Frank, Rotor Chief Commercial Officer, believes the Sprayhawk is the right path forward for US farmers and aerial applicators:
“Many of the agricultural drones on the market today are unlikely to stand the test of time. The need for larger and more reliable aircraft is clear and our aggressive introductory pricing for the 2025 model year is designed to speed up adoption.”
Rotor offers training, maintenance plans, and regulatory support to Sprayhawk customers to ensure seamless deployment in any agricultural setting.
Airtruck
Also developed by Rotor for 2025 is its Airtruck, a drone with a carrying capacity of over 450kgs, also priced under $1m.
Again based on the Robinson R44 full-scale helicopter, and like the SprayHawk, this sister aircraft also has a maximum take-off weight of 1,133kgs.
Hector Xu added:
“With the unveiling of the Airtruck and Sprayhawk, we’re excited to bring drone manufacturing back to the United States, by being bigger, bolder, and more innovative than our global competition. These two aircraft bear unprecedented capability that will be transformative for drone operators, who for many years have wanted longer flight times and larger payloads.”
