Autel EVO Max 4T V2
The other Chinese thermal drone American public safety bought: a 640 × 512 thermal, a 10x optical zoom, a 1.2 km rangefinder and radar-backed obstacle sensing in a 1.7 kg folding airframe, for about $2,000 less than a Matrice 4T. Autel is named on the FCC Covered List and the aircraft draws 100 percent import duty.
- Rating
- 4.2/ 5
- Weight
- 1,665 g
- Flight time
- 42 min
- Price
- $5,699
- Launched
- Apr 3, 2025
- Made by
- Autel Robotics
The Autel EVO Max 4T V2 is a 1,665 g folding enterprise drone with four cameras on one gimbal: a 48 MP zoom with 10x optical reach, a 48 MP wide, a 640 × 512 thermal imager and a laser rangefinder good to 1,200 m. It flies for 42 minutes, transmits to 15 km and senses obstacles with binocular vision and millimetre-wave radar, which lets it work in low light and rain that would blind a vision-only aircraft.
The V2 replaced the original EVO Max 4T of January 2023. Autel’s dealers announced it as available in China from 3 April 2025, with the United States, Britain and Europe to follow. It is the aircraft American police and fire departments bought when they wanted a thermal drone and did not want DJI, and its position in the US market changed twice in nine months.
Aircraft Specifications
| Specification | Autel EVO Max 4T V2 |
|---|---|
| Takeoff weight | 1,665 g with battery, Fusion 4T V2 gimbal and propellers |
| Max takeoff mass | 1,999 g; 1,890 g for EU C2 certification |
| Unfolded dimensions | 563 × 657 × 147 mm including propellers |
| Max flight time | 42 min, windless, at 8 m/s |
| Max hover time | 37 min |
| Max flight speed | 23 m/s forward in Ludicrous mode; 15 m/s in Standard |
| Max wind resistance | 10.7 m/s at takeoff and landing; 12 m/s in cruise |
| Service ceiling | 4,500 m |
| Operating temperature | -20° to 50°C without load; -20° to 40°C at full load |
| Ingress protection | IP43 |
| Storage | 128 GB internal, 64 GB available; microSD to 1 TB |
| GNSS | GPS, Galileo, BeiDou, GLONASS |
| Battery | ABX41-D, 9,248 mAh, 136.5 Wh, hot-swappable |
All figures are Autel’s published specifications, checked against autelrobotics.com on 19 September 2026. FlightBrief has not flown the aircraft.
Cameras
| Item | Zoom | Wide | Thermal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sensor | 48 MP, f/2.8 to f/4.8 | 48 MP, 1/2-inch CMOS, f/2.8 | 640 × 512 |
| Reach | 10x optical, 160x hybrid | 24 mm equivalent, 83.4° field | 9.1 mm lens, 16x digital zoom |
| Specification | Value |
|---|---|
| Video | 4000 × 3000 at 30 fps from the zoom camera |
| Thermal range | -20° to 550°C |
| Laser rangefinder | 5 to 1,200 m, accuracy ± (1 m + 0.15 percent of distance) |
The camera figures above are for the Fusion 4T V2 gimbal fitted to the V2. Autel’s page also lists the original Fusion 4T, with a 50 MP 1/1.28-inch wide camera and a 13 mm thermal lens; the V2’s wide camera is smaller and its thermal lens wider, which Autel’s dealers describe as a change with almost no difference in image quality.
Sensing and Transmission
| Specification | Value |
|---|---|
| Vision | Binocular sensing in every direction, from 0.5 m out to 25 to 40 m depending on direction |
| Radar | Millimetre-wave at 24 GHz and 60 GHz |
| Transmission | Autel SkyLink 3.0, six antennas, four bands, AES-256 |
| Max range | 15 km (FCC), 8 km (CE, SRRC) |
| Controller | Autel Smart Controller V3, 7.9-inch 2,000-nit display |
The radar is the selling point. Vision sensing fails in the dark and in rain; radar does not, and Autel pitches the aircraft for night search and for flying near power lines on that basis. The transmission system runs on 900 MHz as well as 2.4 and 5.8 GHz in the United States, which matters where Wi-Fi is dense.
Use Cases
Public safety: thermal search at night, overwatch from a fixed position, fire scene observation. Power line and infrastructure inspection with the radar keeping the aircraft off the structure. The optional EVO Nest turns it into a dock-launched aircraft for substations and industrial sites.
Market Context
Two things happened to the EVO Max 4T’s American market in nine months. On 22 December 2025 the FCC put Autel on the Covered List by name, alongside DJI, so no new Autel model can receive an FCC equipment authorisation. Autel’s dealer network said in June 2025 that FCC certification for the V2 series was still being applied for; FlightBrief has not confirmed whether it was granted before the cut-off, and a buyer should ask the seller for the FCC ID before paying. Federal money cannot buy or fly the aircraft either way, and twelve states restrict their own agencies.
On 3 September 2026 the Section 232 tariffs put any imported drone with a thermal imager in the 100 percent tranche. The V2’s list price of $5,699, quoted by the dealer Autelpilot in September 2026 for the rugged bundle with aircraft, gimbal and battery, was already about $2,000 under a DJI Matrice 4T at $7,849; the duty doubles both.
The compliant alternative is the Skydio X10, on GSA at $28,382 and on the Blue UAS Cleared List. The enterprise drone guide carries the comparison.
Compared
| Specification | Autel EVO Max 4T V2 | DJI Matrice 4T | Skydio X10 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weight | 1,665 g | 1,420 g | 2.11 kg (4.65 lb) |
| Flight time | 42 min | 49 min | up to 40 min |
| Price | $5,699 | $7,849 | On request |
| Where to buy | Dealers and Amazon | Dealers and Amazon | Skydio direct and resellers; price on quote |
| Launched | Apr 3, 2025 | Jan 8, 2025 | Feb 28, 2024 |
Figures are the manufacturers' published specifications, as on each product's page.
Coverage
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