By Ava Tien for the Just Drones team — updated 20 May 2026
Quick verdict: I flew the X10 on two demonstration jobs through a Skydio AU dealer earlier this year — the Just Drones team’s view is that its the only credible non-DJI commercial drone with genuinely advanced autonomy. The catch is you’re buying into Skydio’s ecosystem, not just the hardware.
Specs at a glance
| Weight | ~2.2kg |
| Cameras | Triple, 64MP visible + thermal payloads |
| Flight time | 40 min |
| Autonomy | Skydio Enterprise Foundation |
| Sensors | 8x navigation cameras |
| Approx. | Quote from Skydio AU dealer |
Skydio X10 review
What’s good about it
Autonomy is genuinely class-leading
Skydio’s 8-camera nav rig gives the X10 obstacle awareness DJI cant match. Through-foliage and cluttered-site work is where it shines.
AI-assisted inspection saves real hours
Tag a structure, the drone flies the inspection autonomously. Tested on a transmission tower scan — 18 minutes total, no pilot input after takeoff.
US-made hardware matters to govt / defence clients
For Australian government or aligned-defence buyers, this is often the only credible non-DJI option on the table.
Enterprise software ecosystem is grade-A out of the box
DroneSense, DroneDeploy, Skydio Cloud integration. No third-party stitching needed for most workflows.
What’s not so good
Pricing lands high
Full platform with thermal payload, two batteries and Skydio Care lands $20k+ USD. DJI Mavic 3 Enterprise RTK does most of the work at half the cost.
Australia availability is dealer-only
No retail listing. Lead times of 6-10 weeks not unusual. Spare parts ship from US.
Subscription dependency for full autonomy features
Foundation is a paid tier. Drop the sub, you loose the headline autonomy features.
Battery cost and lifespan
Around $1,200 per pack. Cycle life is lower than DJI’s TB65 cells in our experience — replacement budget matters.
Who should buy this
Defence, government or agency-aligned operators needing non-DJI hardware, or autonomy-first workflows in cluttered environments.
Who should skip
Standard mapping/inspection where Mavic 3 Enterprise RTK or Matrice 350 RTK would do — cheaper, bigger Australian service network.
Heads up: the buy button above goes to Amazon Australia with the Just Drones team’s affiliate tag drones02-22. Costs you nothing extra; pays for the gear we crash during testing.
