On its unstoppable path to automation, agriculture adds a new signing: the tractor drone

Autonomous tractors, low-orbit satellites dedicated to mapping farmland, drones that plant seeds or pick fruit directly from the trees… And, now, electric and autonomous spacecraft designed to spray. The field is not what it used to be. And if the innovations launched in recent years by John Deere were not enough to prove it, farmers have just seen a new protagonist emerge in their sector: Guardian Agriculturesignature that has just receive the OJK from the US authorities to operate your agricultural eVTOL.

New times, new resources.

Make way for eVTOL. Guardian Agriculture not a newcomer to agriculture. The company, based in Massachusetts, was founded in 2017 and has been working for years on the implementation in the sector of electric vertical takeoff and landing craft, known as eVTOL. What he has now achieved is the approval of the aviation agency (FAA) to operate their designs.

The measure is of interest beyond the company: Guardian ensures that it makes its eVTOL the first authorized to operate in the fields of the country.

And how is your aircraft? The company has named it SC1 Guardian and presents it as his system of “third generation“, developed largely thanks to what they learned with their two previous prototypes, Beta and Eva, as well as a first version, Alpha, on which they began working more than five years ago. The eVTOL has a wingspan of 4.5 meters , incorporates four propellers and a diffusion system and is capable of carrying payloads of 76 liters.

Its creators estimate that it can cover 40 acres—16.2 hectares—an hour “efficiently” and stress that the system is “100 percent programmable.” “It offers a precise and safe application for crop protection at a fraction of the time and cost,” he highlights. A priori, its reception in the market has not been bad: Guardian assures that it has orders for more than 100 million dollars and would already be taking orders for end of 2025according to Bloomberg.

Fumigate… in a big way. Here is one of the points where emphasizes the companywhich points out that although farmers are moving from traditional ground spray equipment to new unmanned autonomous systems, most of those available today still have certain limitations.

“They are too small to give products complete coverage at a competitive price,” the company argues. His system would offer “the same comprehensive coverage as traditional aerial and ground fumigation equipment, at the same or lower cost.” All, emphasizes“with digital precision”.

“Change the face of agriculture”. That is the vocation of Guardian, who hopes that the FAA’s approval will open up a juicy market for him, that of aerial crop care, which amounts to 5.7 billion dollars. “With the approval, Guardian is in a unique position to change the face of agriculture for the better. For the first time, we now have a reliable, cost-effective and sustainable solution in the form,” Willie Negroni of Wilbur-Ellis explains in the note disclosed by the firm.

One more step, but not the only one. Neither Guardian is not the only company pointing to the potential of eVTOLs in agriculture —a good example is the Agras T30device the Chinese company DJI—, nor are vertical takeoff aircraft the only technology that aspires to revolutionize crop fields. Over the last few years, other firms have proposed the use of artificial intelligence, autonomous tractors, remote control platforms, software, satellites or robots for cultivation and harvesting in search of greater efficiency on farms.

The goal: do more with less. And make your way into a sector with enormous potential. Only John Deere, one of the companies that has invested most decisively in technological development in the sector, expects to reach 2026 with 1.5 million machines and 500 million acres, equivalent to more than 202 million hectares, connected to its cloud-based Operations Center.

Images: Guardian Agriculture 1 and 2 (Twitter)

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