Chinese Heavy-Lift Drones (15kg+ Payload) for Water-Carrying Window Cleaning¶
Notes¶
Summary¶
Context¶
Tyler researched Chinese suppliers (2026-08-08) for large drones capable of carrying 15kg+ payloads, originally framed around window-cleaning water delivery. This is the "firefighting one" he later asked to move to the wiki — it's not actually about firefighting, that was a misremembered label; the real topic is heavy-lift Chinese drone sourcing + import logistics.
Key finding: reframe the problem¶
The commercial window-cleaning drone industry doesn't carry water airborne — it uses ground-tethered hose supply (drone flies light on battery, water pumped up via hose from a ground unit) because airborne water weight kills flight time. Chinese makers TDHP/Willflydrone (C16, C40A) and EAUAV (Vertex C80/C80P) build this category. This is likely the better engineering path regardless of sourcing country.
If airborne 15kg+ payload is still required¶
| Manufacturer | Model | Payload | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| DJI | Agras T50 | 40kg spray / 50kg spread | Grandfathered/FCC-legal, ~$18-28k depending on tariff figure |
| XAG | P150 Max | 80kg | FCC-approved, real US dealer network |
| Shandong Jiutian, Hongfei, E-FLY Tech, BROUAV, Aolan, Eagle Brother | Various | 10-100kg range | Factory-direct, cheap ($780-6,000), but likely cannot clear US customs as new models |
The critical blocker: FCC Covered List (effective 2025-12-22)¶
The FCC banned new foreign-produced drone models from receiving FCC equipment authorization. Only already-authorized/grandfathered models (DJI Agras T50, XAG P150 Max) can legally be imported/sold in the US right now. Every other small-factory Chinese listing carries real import-legality risk. On top of that, a standing 25% Section 301 tariff applies to Chinese-origin drones (HTS 8806).
Battery logistics¶
Any flight battery over 100Wh (all of these) must ship Cargo-Aircraft-Only with a 30%-state-of-charge certificate (mandatory since 2026-01-01 under IATA DGR 67th Edition). Air freight for bulk battery cargo is often impractical at commercial volumes — sea freight is the realistic default (weeks, not days).
Caveat¶
None of this is legal advice — the FCC/tariff situation needs a customs broker or drone-import attorney before spending real money.
Related¶
- See drone-companies-distributor-dealer-research for the follow-up DJI/XAG dealer-application research.
- See open-source-drone-frameworks-beyond-px4-urc-delivery-drone for the separate open-source drone framework research (Mars Rover Challenge context, unrelated to this heavy-lift sourcing topic).
- Full source list (25 citations) and methodology retained in the original workspace file
chinese_heavy_lift_drone_research.md.