Breaking into a market long dominated by Chinese giants, a bold new American player is shaking up the high-performance drone industry with cutting-edge innovations that it claims are about to change the game. Santa Clara-based drone company SiFly has emerged from stealth mode with ambitions to dethrone Shenzen-based DJI as the global standard in commercial drones. With hardware boasting flight times of up to three hours and ranges exceeding 90 miles, SiFly doesn’t just aim to compete with Chinese drones—it intends to leave them behind entirely. “We believed customers didn’t want drones—they wanted helicopter-level capability,” Logan Jones, SiFly’s Chief Business Officer, told Newsweek. SiFly officially exited stealth mode in May with the launch of its Q12 and Q250 drones, featuring flight endurance and payload specs previously thought unattainable in electric unmanned aerial systems. The Q12 offers up to three hours of forward flight and a 90-mile range while carrying a 10-pound payload. Its larger sibling, the Q250, is designed for logistics and emergency response, capable of carrying 200 pounds for up to 100 minutes—ideal for crop spraying, fire suppression and remote cargo missions. “By moving to an electric vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) system, we could offer helicopter-like capability at the lower cost and usability of drones. If you solve that, you redefine the drone market,” Jones said.

Full report : After emerging from stealth in May 2025, U.S. drone startup, SiFly releases Q12 quadcopter with longest-flying range.