Parrot Anafi
French quadcopter drone with military and enterprise variants.
The Parrot Anafi (stylized as ANAFI) is a French quadcopter drone that is operated remotely and built by Parrot SA. While the first consumer version had many flaws, later models were taken up by several governments and militaries.
Parrot unveiled the Anafi in June 2018. According to CEO Henri Seydoux, the drone’s look came from insects: the camera acts as the head, the electronics as the thorax, and the battery as the abdomen. Its four arms fold for portability, much like the competing DJI Mavic Air. The drone uses a two-axis gimbal that can tilt 180 degrees vertically, with yaw stabilization handled electronically. It carries a 21-megapixel camera with a Sony IMX230 sensor, shooting 4K HDR video and offering “lossless” digital zoom (1.4× in 4K, 2.8× in 1080p). Top speed is 33 mph, and it can handle winds up to 31 mph. The battery lasts 25 minutes, beating the Mavic Air’s 21 minutes, but the drone had many problems. *Wired* called the HDR video “pretty terrible” and “more or less unusable,” and the Anafi suffered from image noise in both standard 4K and HDR modes. *The Verge* found that placing a hand under the proximity sensor mid-flight caused the drone to lose control and crash, though its carbon-fiber and fiberglass construction let it survive a crash into a tree.
The Anafi Thermal came out in April 2019 for businesses and first responders. It added a 160×120-pixel FLIR Lepton 3.5 thermal camera (the same one used on the DJI Mavic 2 Enterprise Dual) below the unchanged 4K HDR camera. Its folding arms were made thinner, cutting 10 g from the weight and boosting flight time to 26 minutes.
A military version, the Anafi UA, was announced in April 2020. It has an improved camera setup with three sensors: one 32× zoom camera and two thermal cameras.
The Anafi USA for enterprises was released in June 2020. Its gimbal holds three sensors: two 32× zoom 21MP optical cameras and one 320×256-pixel FLIR Boson thermal camera. It has an IP53 protection rating and uses a 3400 mAh high-density LiPo battery for 32 minutes of flight. Three additional versions followed: the SE, MIL, and GOV. The Anafi USA SE uses a Skycontroller 4 remote like the baseline USA but is meant for government organizations. The USA MIL and GOV are both NDAA and TAA compliant, Blue sUAS approved, and use a Skycontroller USA remote.
- Manufacturer
- Parrot SA
- Country of origin
- France
- Announced
- June 2018
- Top speed
- 33 mph
- Maximum wind resistance
- 31 mph
- Original flight time
- 25 minutes
- Camera sensor
- Sony IMX230
Lore & Background
Parrot announced the Anafi in June 2018. According to Parrot CEO Henri Seydoux, the drone's design was inspired by insects, with the camera as the head, electronics as the thorax, and the battery as the abdomen. The Anafi has four folding arms for portability similar to the competing DJI Mavic Air. It features a gimbal-stabilized 21-megapixel camera capable of shooting 4K high-dynamic-range (HDR) video with a Sony IMX230 sensor and lossless digital zoom. The two-axis gimbal allows 180 degrees of vertical rotation, while yaw stabilization is performed electronically. The drone has a top speed of 33 mph and can resist winds up to 31 mph. Although praised for its 25-minute battery life, the original Anafi suffered from numerous problems: Wired noted that the HDR video looked pretty terrible and was more or less unusable, and the drone also suffered from image noise issues. Testing by The Verge found that the Anafi would lose control and crash if a person put their hand under the proximity sensor mid-flight, though it could survive a crash into a tree due to its carbon fiber and fiberglass construction.
Subsequent variants addressed different markets. The Anafi Thermal, introduced in April 2019, added a 160×120-pixel FLIR Lepton 3.5 thermal camera for enterprise customers and first responders. The Anafi UA, announced in April 2020, was a military version with an improved camera suite of three sensors. The Anafi USA, released in June 2020, featured two 32× zoom 21MP optical cameras and a 320×256-pixel FLIR Boson thermal camera, with an IP53 protection rating and 32-minute flight time. The Anafi Ai, announced on 30 June 2021, was redesigned with 4G connectivity, an obstacle avoidance system using two gimbal-mounted cameras, and a 48MP camera. The Anafi UKR, announced in June 2025, incorporated lessons from the Russo-Ukrainian war, with embedded artificial intelligence and full autonomous navigation capability in GNSS-denied environments.
Reader's Guide
The Parrot Anafi series represents a notable evolution from a consumer quadcopter with significant flaws into a family of drones adopted by multiple governments and militaries. The original model's issues—poor HDR video quality, image noise, and control loss when proximity sensors were blocked—limited its consumer appeal. However, Parrot leveraged the basic design to create specialized variants for enterprise, government, and military use. The Anafi USA, built in the United States by NEOTech, became the most widely adopted variant, serving with the French Armed Forces (selected by the Direction générale de l'armement in 2023 with plans for 300 units), as well as the armed forces of Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Norway, Poland, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and Ukraine. The Anafi UKR, developed from combat experience in the Russo-Ukrainian war, introduced autonomous navigation resistant to electronic warfare and GNSS jamming. The Anafi USA GOV received the Swedish military designation UAV 06 A Skatan. The series demonstrates how a flawed consumer product can be iteratively refined into a capable military and enterprise tool, with the Anafi UKR representing the culmination of lessons learned from actual combat conditions.
Did You Know?
- The Anafi USA is built in the United States by NEOTech.
- The Anafi UKR can navigate fully autonomously in areas with electronic warfare and GNSS jamming.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Parrot Anafi?
The Parrot Anafi is a French-built, remotely operated quadcopter drone manufactured by Parrot SA. It was unveiled to the public in June 2018 and features folding arms for easy transport, similar in concept to the DJI Mavic Air.
What inspired the Parrot Anafi's design?
CEO Henri Seydoux modeled the drone's appearance after an insect, with the camera serving as the head, the internal electronics as the thorax, and the battery as the abdomen. The four arms fold inward to make the unit compact enough to carry in a bag.
What are the Parrot Anafi's main performance specs?
The original Anafi reaches a top speed of 33 mph, tolerates winds up to 31 mph, and offers roughly 25 minutes of flight time per charge. Its camera is mounted on a two-axis gimbal that tilts a full 180 degrees vertically while maintaining yaw stabilization.
Why was the first Parrot Anafi criticized by reviewers?
The initial consumer release carried a number of noticeable flaws that drew negative attention in the drone community. Despite those early shortcomings, Parrot refined the platform in subsequent iterations.
How did the Parrot Anafi transition into military and government use?
After Parrot addressed the shortcomings of the original consumer model, the improved variants were adopted by several national governments and military forces. This enterprise and defense uptake made the Anafi one of the few French-designed drones to see operational service abroad.
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