Parrot’s Anafi UKR - Tactical Micro‑Drone Born from War

When you think about drones, consumer models with flashy 4K cameras often steal the spotlight. But at the 2025 Paris Air Show, Parrot rolled out something far more tactical: the Anafi UKR, a micro-UAV hardened for combat and civil protection. Developed from Parrot’s street-smart lessons in Ukraine, this pint-sized powerhouse is making waves for its blend of resilience, autonomy, and simplicity.
The Anafi UKR sprang from urgent battlefront needs—particularly Ukraine’s struggle with GPS jamming, signal interference, and drone detection. Operations amid electronic warfare pushed the team to build a drone that doesn’t just fly, but survives, navigates blind, and works offline. The result is a sub‑1 kg craft boasting offline autonomy, optical navigation, and integrated AI—ready for environments where GNSS systems are unreliable.
Physically, the Anafi UKR measures just 245 × 160 × 116 mm folded and unfolds to 350 × 665 × 116 mm. At 959 grams (up to 1,450 g max), it's small enough to fit in a backpack—but rugged enough to withstand wind gusts of 15 m/s and temperatures from ‑35 °C to +50 °C. Its endurance is impressive: 38 minutes on the standard battery with a cruise speed of 6 m/s, and up to 50 minutes with a 40 km range using the optional XLR battery. It can reach speeds up to 17 m/s—remarkable for a drone of its size.
What's under the hood is even more compelling. The drone carries dual EO/IR gimbals—with a 35× zoom RGB sensor and a FLIR Boson thermal imager—mounted on a hybrid 3-axis gimbal that’s both mechanically and electronically stabilized. It can identify human-sized targets from 2.2 km during daylight and up to 173 m in thermal mode. Data collection and transmission are secured by military-grade radio with frequency-hopping tech, encrypted Wi‑Fi and 5G links, and LoRa backup, making it resistant to jamming or spoofing.
On the cybersecurity side, the drone features fully signed firmware, encrypted storage, and strict data sovereignty. Nothing is shared unless the user explicitly chooses to do so. Offline operations are fully supported by onboard AI and optical navigation systems, enabling reliable flight in GNSS-denied environments.
The Anafi UKR’s applications aren’t limited to combat. While it was built with lessons from the battlefield, Parrot also introduced a civil version called Anafi UKR GOV, designed for law enforcement, search and rescue, and border patrol. Its ability to launch in under two minutes, even without GPS, makes it ideal for emergency situations. Operators control it via the ruggedized SkyController UKR, which includes an integrated tablet and offers up to 4.5 hours of runtime per charge.
Despite its compact size, it’s aimed squarely at military, civil protection, and institutional users. That said, Parrot has already begun serial production, and deliveries are underway for both European and international clients.
Parrot’s strategy is simple but effective: turn battlefield reality into an asset. Real-world testing in Ukraine has become both a validation process and a marketing edge. In regions where electronic warfare and drone attrition are constant, the Anafi UKR’s proven resilience and independence offer a compelling value proposition. Whether used in reconnaissance, security, or disaster response, the drone's survivability under adverse conditions gives it credibility beyond paper specs.
So what makes the Anafi UKR truly stand out? It’s the rare intersection of miniaturization, autonomy, and survivability. It’s compact but long-lasting. It’s simple to operate, but deeply secure. It doesn’t rely on satellites or stable networks to operate effectively. And in a world where conflict zones and natural disasters increasingly require agile, intelligent tools, the Anafi UKR is uniquely poised to lead.
From European airshows to war-torn fields and the halls of public safety agencies, this tiny but capable craft promises to bring ISR—intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance—to places where bigger drones can’t go. As production scales and deployment expands, the Anafi UKR is shaping up to be the go-to micro-UAV for operations demanding stealth, intelligence, and strength in one compact package.