AI-driven crop intelligence and long-endurance autonomous drones unite to deliver deeper field insights and improvements in operational productivity
SiFly Aviation, Inc., a U.S.-based manufacturer of long-endurance autonomous VTOL drones, and Taranis, a U.S.-based leader in AI-powered, leaf-level crop intelligence, today announced the launch of a joint 2026 Field Validation Program focused on validating a new operational model for large-scale aerial crop intelligence.
The Field Validation Program will validate how long endurance autonomous flight, combined with AI-driven agronomic analysis, can improve coverage efficiency, data consistency, and operational scalability across large agricultural regions—addressing one of the most persistent challenges in modern crop intelligence: collecting high-quality data efficiently at scale.
"This program reflects a shared focus on solving real operational challenges in agriculture," said Joey Cline, Vice President of Operations at Taranis. "As farms, cooperatives and retailers continue to scale, it's critical to explore new mission models that improve how efficiently data is collected and transformed into insights—without adding complexity for growers or advisors."
SiFly's Q12 long-endurance drone delivers up to 3 hours of flight time while supporting advanced sensor payloads that enable higher-resolution imaging and greater per-mission productivity. Designed for persistent, wide-area operations, the Q12 allows large agricultural regions to be surveyed in fewer flights with more consistent results—fundamentally changing the economics of aerial data collection at scale.
"When aircraft can fly for hours instead of minutes, the entire model for aerial data collection changes," said Brian Hinman, Founder and CEO at SiFly. "By working alongside Taranis in this Field Validation Program, we're validating how long-endurance flight enables more consistent, large-scale data capture—covering more acres per mission, improving data quality, and reducing the operational friction that has historically limited agricultural intelligence."
During the 2026 growing season, the companies will jointly assess mission outcomes, operational efficiency, and data analysis performance under real-world field conditions. Learnings from the Field Validation Program will inform each company's future innovation roadmap as they continue to support scalable, data-driven decision-making in U.S. agriculture.
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