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Astro Max
Freefly Systems
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Astro Max
Freefly SystemsThe Freefly Astro Max is a U.S.-built industrial drone platform offering double the payload capacity (6.6 lbs) and 60% more thrust compared to its predecessors, with RTK/PPK positioning, a 61MP Sony ILX-LR1 camera option, LTE cloud connectivity, and NDAA/DIU Blue compliance. It is developed through a hardware-software partnership between Freefly Systems and Auterion, targeting enterprise sectors including utility, infrastructure, public safety, and defense. Base pricing starts at $22,995 for the aircraft alone, rising to $28,995 for the NDAA/Blue variant, with full mapping bundles reaching $37,725+. Community users confirm real-world deployment as a DJI alternative for UAV mapping, though some note the Blue variant carries a premium not always warranted unless compliance is required. The system is a pilot-operated autonomous drone — it executes autonomous flight missions without a human performing the task, though a trained pilot is required for operation.
Availability
Specification
- weight
- 6.8 lbs (3.08 kg)
- payload_capacity
- 6.6 lbs (3.0 kg) — double that of Astro/Astro Prime (3.3 lbs)
- power_system
- SL8-Air Batteries (recommended qty: 4, $695 each); SL8 power system
- payload_integration
- Open payload integration; supports Sony ILX-LR1, Freefly Thermal Upgrade, Smart Dovetail
Price
No public price — contact the supplier for a quote.
Good · Bad · Ugly
Evidence-graded claims from the Freefly Systems deep report
Freefly hardware (Alta X in particular) is polished, reliable, and durable in difficult field conditions.
Independent Reddit users on r/Surveying and r/UAVmapping [12][13][14] — not Freefly PR — describe the Alta X/X55 as polished and reliable with noted durability in difficult conditions, providing genuine third-party corroboration, though sample size is small.
from Freefly Systems deep report →
Astro Max is BVLOS-capable (Beyond Visual Line of Sight compliant per FCC DA 25-1086).
The BVLOS compliance citation (FCC DA 25-1086) comes solely from Freefly's own official store listing [3]; no independent regulator confirmation, third-party flight test, or customer operational report substantiates real-world BVLOS deployment at scale.
from Freefly Systems deep report →Astro Max is BLUE/NDAA-approved, making it suitable for U.S. government and sensitive-site deployments.
BLUE/NDAA approval is stated on Freefly's own store listing [3], and the dossier notes the Herelink radio link option is explicitly NOT NDAA-compliant per the same page — no independent government procurement record or DIU audit confirms the full-system approval.
from Freefly Systems deep report →Flying Sun delivers 300,000 lumens from 288 LEDs, illuminating 10,000 sq ft at 17 foot-candles or 137,000 sq ft at 1 foot-candle, drawing 5 kW average power via tether.
All technical figures originate exclusively from Freefly's own Flying Sun product page [4]; no independent photometric test, third-party review, or customer field report in the dossier validates these specific lumen/coverage specifications.
from Freefly Systems deep report →Astro Max is priced at $22,995, is in stock, and ships within 1 business day.
Pricing and availability are confirmed on Freefly's own store listing [3] and corroborated by Sacra's $20K–$50K range estimate [2], but no independent buyer receipt, distributor listing, or journalist purchase confirmation exists in the dossier to independently verify the ship-time claim.
from Freefly Systems deep report →
Alta X is rated to fly continuously for 7 days straight before requiring only a 15-minute inspection, then returns to work.
The dossier explicitly flags this as an extraordinary vendor claim with zero independent corroboration, no third-party testing, and no teardown validation found in any source; even the likely tethered-power context (Flying Sun) does not rescue the claim from being unverified.
from Freefly Systems deep report →
About the company
Editorial directory of real robot products from leading global manufacturers. Each entry links to the manufacturer's official page.
