Finding
Battery-electric cargo UAVs work where the hop is short - DJI's FlyCart over mountains and building sites, AutoFlight's certified CarryAll to islands - and stop near 400 kg over 250 km; longer cargo routes go hybrid-electric, and China's largest cargo drones run on combustion engines
AutoFlight's CarryAll received the CAAC's type certificate in March 2024, the first for a cargo eVTOL, and carries about 400 kg up to 250 km. DJI's FlyCart 30 lifts 30 kg on two packs (40 kg on one) over 16 km at full load and sells from $16,590. Elroy Air's hybrid-electric Chaparral, 136 kg over about 480 km, entered FAA type certification in 2025. Volocopter's 200 kg VoloDrone ended with the company's insolvency.
Energy density sets the line. Pack-level lithium-ion stores about 200-250 Wh/kg against about 12,000 Wh/kg for jet fuel; even with an electric drivetrain's roughly three-times efficiency advantage, fuel carries more than 15 times the useful energy per kilogram. A VTOL also burns its highest power in hover, so batteries suit short legs with vertical takeoff at both ends. Hybrid-electric designs keep battery-electric lift for takeoff and landing and recharge from a turbine or engine in cruise: Elroy Air's Chaparral, Pipistrel's Nuuva V300, Dufour's Aero2, Sabrewing's Rhaegal and Parallel Flight's Firefly.
China leads in units and certificates. DJI's FlyCart series sells in volume for mountain, island and construction logistics, AutoFlight holds type, production and airworthiness certificates for the CarryAll, and EHang adapts its type-certified EH216 airframe for logistics as the EH216-L. The heavy end of China's cargo fleet - AVIC's TP500 and Tengden's TB-series - burns fuel and is excluded under the ElectronsX powertrain rule, as are Dronamics' piston Black Swan, Natilus' Kona and the autonomous Cessna Caravan conversions from Reliable Robotics and Xwing.
In the US, a cargo UAV over 25 kg needs type certification and an operating approval, a slower path than the waivers small delivery drones fly under, and Part 108 covers only aircraft under 1,320 lb (599 kg) in its proposed form. Military logistics is the early customer: Elroy Air works with the US Air Force through AFWERX, and Parallel Flight's Firefly is funded through US military research contracts. US imports of drones over 25 kg carry a 100% Section 232 tariff since September 3, 2026, which lands squarely on DJI's FlyCart.
Aircraft
Cargo UAVs tracked
Battery-electric first, then hydrogen and hybrid-electric; each row opens the full record. Ranges are maker figures at the stated payload where published.
| Aircraft | Type | Country | Powertrain | Payload kg | Range km | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CarryAll (V2000CG) (AutoFlight) | lift+cruise VTOL | China | battery-electric | 400 | 250 | in production |
| FlyCart 100 (DJI) | multirotor | China | battery-electric | 80 | - | in production |
| FlyCart 30 (DJI) | multirotor | China | battery-electric | 30-40 | 16 | in production |
| EH216-L (EHang) | multirotor | China | battery-electric | - | - | pilot |
| Pelican Cargo (Pyka) | fixed-wing | US | battery-electric | 180 | - | pilot |
| VoloDrone (Volocopter) | multirotor | Germany | battery-electric | 200 | 40 | discontinued |
| Firefly (Parallel Flight Technologies) | multirotor | US | hybrid-electric | 45 | - | pilot |
| Aero2 (Dufour Aerospace) | tilt-wing VTOL | Switzerland | hybrid-electric | 40 | 400 | prototype |
| Chaparral C1 (Elroy Air) | lift+cruise VTOL | US | hybrid-electric | 136 | 480 | prototype |
| Nuuva V300 (Pipistrel (Textron eAviation)) | lift+cruise VTOL | Slovenia | hybrid-electric | 460 | 300 | unconfirmed |
| Rhaegal (Sabrewing Aircraft) | tilt-wing VTOL | US | hybrid-electric | - | - | unconfirmed |
Classes
Cargo UAV classes
Ranges are typical design envelopes.
| Class | Payload | Range | Powertrain today | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heavy-lift multirotor | 30-200 kg | 5-40 km | Battery-electric | DJI FlyCart 30 and 100; VoloDrone (ended) |
| Light cargo VTOL | 40-180 kg | 50-500 km | Battery-electric or hybrid | Pyka Pelican Cargo, Dufour Aero2, Elroy Chaparral, Parallel Flight Firefly |
| Medium cargo VTOL | 200-500 kg | 100-300 km | Battery-electric to about 400 kg; hybrid above | AutoFlight CarryAll, EHang EH216-L, Pipistrel Nuuva V300 |
| Heavy fixed-wing cargo | 500 kg and up | 500 km and up | Combustion (excluded) | AVIC TP500, Tengden TB-series, Natilus Kona, Dronamics Black Swan |
Excluded
Cargo programs outside the electric dataset
Fossil-only aircraft are excluded under the powertrain rule; listed so the gap is visible.
| Program | Country | Powertrain | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| AVIC TP500 | China | Combustion | China's flagship 500 kg cargo UAV |
| Tengden TB-series cargo UAVs | China | Combustion | Large twin-engine uncrewed freighters in trials |
| Dronamics Black Swan | Bulgaria | Piston engine | EU cargo drone airline model |
| Natilus Kona | US | Turboprop | Blended-wing uncrewed freighter |
| Reliable Robotics and Xwing | US | Turboprop (Cessna Caravan) | Set the FAA precedent for remotely supervised cargo flight |
Sources
Sources and scope
- Scope
- Heavy-Lift Cargo UAVs
- Sources
- CAAC and AutoFlight (CarryAll, 2024); DJI (FlyCart 30); Elroy Air; Volocopter; FAA Part 108 NPRM (Aug 2025); DroneXL (Section 232, Sep 2026); Oct 2026
- Updated
- October 2026