Features
- Conspicuity in shared airspace: a flashing aviation white or aviation red signal makes the aircraft stand out to other crews and ground observers at night and in twilight.
- Covert marking for NVG crews: the tri mode model adds an IR output, so friendly night vision users can track the aircraft without a visible flash giving it away.
- Full coverage from one pair: one unit above and one below the airframe cover the aircraft from every direction.
- Synchronised or independent flashing: paired units run as master and slave and flash together or in an asynchronous pattern.
- One light across the fleet: the same unit and mounting arrangement fit large UAS, helicopters, fast jets and cargo or transport aircraft.
- No separate power unit: the light draws its supply straight from the aircraft bus, so there is no external power box to find space for.
- Built for military service: designed to keep flashing through the shock, dust and vibration of operational airframes.
What is a drone anti-collision light?
A drone anti-collision light, often sold as a drone strobe light, is a flashing beacon that makes an unmanned aircraft conspicuous to everyone else in the airspace. Its job is to get the aircraft noticed, not to show which way it points. This unit flashes 41 times per minute in aviation white, aviation red or, on the tri mode model, infrared.
It is sized for the heavier end of the UAS market and for crewed aircraft: at 690 g on a 28 V DC bus it suits large fixed-wing and rotary UAS, not small multirotors. It is qualified against MIL-STD-461 for electromagnetic compatibility, so it can share the airframe with datalinks and payloads, and against MIL-STD-810 for environmental exposure.
Night and Twilight Rules for a UAS Strobe
Civil operators of small UAS in the United States fly night and twilight missions under 14 CFR 107.29, which sets the drone anti-collision light requirements in two short phrases.
The rule judges the installed aircraft, so confirm the 3 statute mile visibility in white or red mode on your own airframe. The remote pilot may dim the lighting for safety but may not switch it off. Military and state aircraft follow their own airworthiness authority, which sets its own lighting rules.
Manned-Aircraft Strobe Output on a Large UAS
This tri mode strobe gives a large UAS the output figures written for crewed aircraft. Its 400 cd in aviation white equals the 0 to 5 degree minimum effective intensity in 14 CFR 25.1401(f), and its 150 cd in aviation red equals the rotorcraft figure in 27.1401(f).
The 41 flashes per minute sit inside the 40 to 100 cycles per minute both sections allow. The published candela values are not stated per vertical angle band, so ask for the photometric data when the light enters a certification programme.
One part number can then serve the UAS fleet and the helicopters it flies with, on the same 4-screw mount. For night formation flying, the formation light adds visible and IR station-keeping marks.
Specifications
| Light modes | Single (white), dual (red/white), tri (red/white/IR) |
| Output intensity | 400 cd (white), 150 cd (red) |
| Field of view | 360° IR |
| Flash rate | 41 flashes per minute |
| Input voltage | 28 V DC |
| Dimensions | 104.8 x 166 x 23.4 mm |
| Profile height | 43 mm |
| Weight | 690 g |
| Construction | Anodised aluminium body |
| Operating temperature | -55 °C to +71 °C |
| EMC compliance | MIL-STD-461 |
| Environmental testing | MIL-STD-810 |
| Design requirements | FAR and JAR |
| IR / covert mode | Included on tri mode model |
| Installation | 4-screw mount, single power and data connector |
| MTBF | Greater than 10,000 hours |
| Applications | UAS, rotary-wing, fast jet, cargo and transport |
Frequently Asked Questions
They do different jobs: steady red, green and white lights show which way the aircraft is heading, while this anti-collision strobe makes it noticed in the first place. Part 107 names only anti-collision lighting for small UAS at night; larger platforms may need both under their own authority. For the steady set, see our drone position lights, which also run on 28 V DC.
Only when everyone who must see the aircraft wears night vision goggles. The IR output of the tri mode model is invisible to the unaided eye, so it hides the flash from hostile observers and from civil traffic alike. Covert IR marking is not the same as NVIS-compatible lighting under MIL-STD-3009, which limits emission in the goggle-sensitive band.
State the mode set (single, dual or tri mode), the number of units, the aircraft type and the mounting surface for each light. Say whether a pair should flash synchronised or asynchronously. If the platform needs a different connector or interface, our OEM lighting solutions team can adapt the strobe to it.
