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,” co-founder David Mazar 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,” Mazar said.

That performance translated into a world-record-setting milestone on May 20. During Michigan’s inaugural Uncrewed Triple Challenge—a statewide competition testing autonomous vehicles across land, air, and water—SiFly’s Q12 became the longest-flying delivery quadcopter in the world.

The drone completed a 63-mile autonomous mission while carrying a 10.6-pound payload, with two back-to-back 26-mile legs per battery—more than doubling the previous 11-mile record held by UAE-based BARQ. It did so through sustained 15 mph winds and gusts up to 32 mph, making SiFly the only air team to complete the full course.

The achievement helped earn SiFly and its partners Dataspeed (ground) and Mythos AI (maritime) the “Best Overall Team” award in the challenge.

“This isn’t just about breaking records,” the company stated. “The Q12’s performance opens real-world opportunities for emergency deliveries, all-weather search and rescue, and critical infrastructure supply missions without dependence on fixed support or pilots.”

Stacking Up Against DJI’s Market Dominance

China’s DJI commands roughly 70 percent of the global drone market—a position solidified in the mid-2010s as regulatory frameworks and hardware standards cemented the company’s first-mover advantage in the space.

Between 2010 and 2016, drone innovation surged. But when the FAA introduced the Small UAS Rule—also known as Part 107—which standardized commercial drone use under 55 pounds, it gave Chinese firms like DJI a significant edge.

“This locked in DJI’s earlier tech choices and created a stagnant market. Since then, DJI has dominated, and other players became copycats,” Mazar said.

DJI’s enterprise drones, such as the Mavic 3 and Matrice 300, are widely used but face limitations: short flight times, smaller payload capacities, and growing concerns over data security, particularly in U.S. government contracts. SiFly sees this as a prime opportunity to gain ground.

“We’re NDAA-compliant, which matters for government buyers,” Mazar said, referring to the National Defense Authorization Act.

Yet Mazar emphasized that SiFly isn’t trying to outpace DJI by playing the same game or simply capitalizing on its American origin—but by changing the market entirely.

“DJI-style systems have a two-mile radius—about 12 square miles of coverage. We can respond faster, fly four times longer, and carry better sensors,” he said. “That extends the response radius to around six miles—offering much broader coverage, which is essential for emergency services.”

He also said that SiFly’s strategy doesn’t rely on patriotic branding.

“Some companies push the all-American angle, but that’s not our pitch,” Mazar said. “It’s about performance, longevity, and being able to scale while staying within NDAA compliance. That’s how you deliver value—not just flags on boxes.”

Commercial Rollout and Real-World Testing

The company’s founders—Mazar, a former Boeing executive, and Brian Hinman, a hardware veteran behind firms like Polycom and Mimosa—have positioned SiFly to meet growing demand in public safety, energy inspection and mapping sectors.

SiFly plans to announce commercial partnerships this summer, with first deliveries expected by year’s end. Pricing will place SiFly near DJI’s enterprise offerings like the M300 but with superior endurance and reduced long-term costs.

“We’re priced near DJI’s enterprise line… but with much better endurance—two to three hours of flight time—and at a fraction of the cost of other long-endurance systems,” Mazar told Newsweek.

Public safety agencies, utility companies, and surveyors are among the early targets for SiFly’s products, especially as many U.S. departments move away from Chinese drones over security concerns.

SiFly’s performance claims are backed by field-tested results. In trials at Amaral Ranches in California’s Salinas Valley, the Q12 streamed live agricultural data via onboard AI and 5G connectivity.

The drone’s electric propulsion is also substantially quieter than typical drones, registering as nearly silent at 100 meters, a performance detail that impressed demo audiences and makes the aircraft ideal for urban operations, the company claims.

“When we spin up the rotors, people always say, ‘Oh s***, this is really quiet,'” Mazar recalled.

That impression is shared by industry veterans. Mark Moore, former NASA Chief Technologist for On-Demand Mobility and now CEO of Whisper Aero, praised the company in a LinkedIn post: “SiFly’s reveal today is kinda breathtaking in terms of capabilities,” he wrote.

“I’ve personally been able to see this drone develop through the years, and know the principals as serious players. The specifications they’ve achieved are really impressive, from the empty weight fraction to the cruise Lift/Drag—this is the best multicopter out there, by far.”

Still, not everyone is convinced. A top commenter on the r/drones subreddit warned that SiFly’s advanced specs might be overkill for average users:

“The average drone pilot won’t benefit from solutions targeted at large industrial or government entities. Until a company produces something genuinely competitive in the consumer space, I’ll stick with DJI.”

But SiFly says it isn’t aiming for the consumer market. Mazar made it clear the company’s strategy is focused on utility and scalability—not recreational use.

“It makes no sense that every mission today requires a pilot, operator, and helicopter,” he said. “Autonomy offers a safer, cheaper, and more effective alternative.”