Parrot Partners with U.S. Firm to Spark Better Battery Charge

European drone maker Parrot has announced a partnership with Colorado Drone Chargers to market what company officials are calling a “revolutionary charging system.”

A Parrot press releases states the charger will allow drone pilots to simultaneously charge four Parrot ANAFI USA 3400mAh flight batteries in the field in less time than a standard charging system.

The CDC ANAFI USA PRCS Elite will recharge four batteries from a 20 percent charge level to a full charge in approximately 60 minutes, freeing up pilots to carry fewer batteries in the field.

“At Parrot we have used our vast proven experience developing drones since 2010, with 4.5 million shipped, to bring the market the class leading extremely capable ANAFI USA,” Parrot Chief Sales/ Marketing Officer Chris Roberts said.

“We have placed an extreme focus on battery performance and weight, to have the best flight time to weight ratio ensuring you can not only have a reliable flight time of +30 minutes but also easily deploy and carry the system anywhere to achieve a professional mission, of course having a great flight time with a heavy weight is not realistic for real professional users. The CDC charging system complements and takes even further the capabilities of always being mission ready and professionally deployable for high frequency constant professional usage.”

Added Colorado Drone Chargers president Johnny R. Podrovitz:

“Time spent recharging can be the difference between saving life for first responders or even professional pilots losing a contract. Creating a quick charging system to charge Parrot’s ANAFI USA’s flight batteries will make a monumental impact on the professional industry. Needs are evolving, and we’re continuously listening to customers and the drone industry to make essential changes.”

A partnership with an American company producing a domestic product can only strengthen Parrot’s favored status with the U.S. government. In August, the defense department released a list of government approved drone providers that included the French drone maker along with Skydio, Altavian, Teal Drones, and Vantage Robotics. The agreement comes weeks after the justice department’s ban on the use of DOJ funds for any drone manufactured by a “Covered Foreign Entity” – a move seen by industry experts as a means to target Chinese drone manufacturer DJI as another political salvo in the Trump Administration’s protracted cold trade war with China.

Parrot in the News

August: Parrot expanded its partnership with swarm-drone light show producer Dronisos to  develop new applications for drone flight automation leveraging Parrot’s  ANAFI UAV platform.

July: The company announced a partnership with global cybersecurity firm WISeKey to enhance digital security for Parrot’s ANAFI UAV product line. WISeKey’s VaultIC4xx tech will integrate into Parrot’s inflight control systems and infrastructure to boost security of drone flights and recorded data for professional users.