22 April 2026
SiFly Aviation and ADS-B Exchange today announced a partnership that debuts a new model for shared airspace awareness across crewed and uncrewed aviation. Through the collaboration, SiFly's cloud-connected Q12 aircraft can appear within ADS-B Exchange's widely used live airspace displays, providing a unified view of both traditional aircraft and unmanned aircraft systems operating in shared airspace.
The integration represents an important step toward enabling scalable Beyond Visual Line-of-Sight (BVLOS) operations and supporting the safe integration of uncrewed aircraft into shared airspace environments.
SiFly's Q12 is designed for long-endurance missions, capable of flying for multiple hours and covering tens of miles in a single operation—capabilities that increasingly require drones to operate transparently within shared airspace.
The companies have already demonstrated the capability in live flight operations, with Q12 aircraft telemetry successfully integrated and displayed in ADS-B Exchange airspace views in real time.
"From the beginning, we set out to build an aerial system that unlocks a new concept of operations for drones, allowing aircraft to fly longer, cover larger regions, and operate as part of real aviation infrastructure," said Brian Hinman, Founder and CEO of SiFly. "As those capabilities emerge, drones must become visible within the same airspace awareness tools used by pilots. Our partnership with ADS-B Exchange helps create a shared airspace picture across crewed and uncrewed aviation."
"ADS-B Exchange was created to provide open, accurate, real-time visibility into global airspace activity," said Greg Kimball, Chief Product Officer at ADS-B Exchange. "As new classes of aircraft enter the airspace, integrations like this expand situational awareness and support the safe integration of new aircraft types into shared airspace."
Enabling a Unified Airspace Picture
Situational awareness tools across aviation have historically focused on crewed aircraft. As unmanned aircraft systems begin operating at greater scale, the ability to visualize those operations alongside traditional aviation becomes increasingly important.
Unlike most crewed aircraft, which broadcast ADS-B signals directly through onboard radios, SiFly's Q12 aircraft leverage a secure cloud connection to share real-time telemetry data. This architecture allows Q12 operations to appear within ADS-B Exchange airspace views while enabling shared awareness across crewed and uncrewed aircraft.
Through this integration, real-time telemetry from SiFly aircraft is securely transmitted through the cloud and surfaced alongside other aircraft activity, allowing observers to view drone operations within the broader airspace picture.
Supporting the Future of Digital Airspace
Unmanned aircraft are rapidly expanding into public safety, infrastructure inspection, environmental monitoring, and other critical missions, driving the need for integrated airspace awareness across all operators.
At the same time, the industry is advancing toward formal unmanned traffic management frameworks including FAA Part 108 and proposed data service layers under FAA Part 146, with a growing perception that large-scale airspace integration will require complex, future infrastructure.
SiFly is demonstrating a different path. By leveraging secure cloud connectivity and real-time telemetry sharing, Q12 operations already integrate into existing airspace awareness systems today, proving that scalable airspace integration is not a future problem to solve, but one the industry can implement now using systems already in place.
About SiFly
SiFly, headquartered in Santa Clara, California, delivers helicopter-like performance at drone economics through long-endurance, autonomous aerial systems. Its cloud-connected, US-made platforms enable persistent coverage for public safety, critical infrastructure inspection, and enterprise operations—unlocking faster response, broader coverage, and lower operating costs.
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