Agri-drone spraying is not yet legally permitted in Ireland — no derogation exists and no aerial PPP products are licensed. However, drones for crop monitoring, mapping, and scouting are legal today. Many farmers are investing now to build skills and data ahead of regulation change. Read our full regulations guide before purchasing a spraying drone.
What to Look For in an Agri-Drone for Irish Conditions
Ireland's farming landscape has some specific characteristics that should shape your drone choice. Before diving into individual models, here is what actually matters for Irish conditions:
Ireland gets roughly 1,200mm of rain per year and wind gusts regularly hit 30–50km/h even on "calm" days. You need an IP rating of at least IP67 and wind resistance rated at minimum 10m/s (36km/h). Any drone that can't handle Irish weather is useless for Irish farmers.
Irish farm holdings average around 32 hectares — much smaller than the vast paddocks that shaped agri-drone design in China and the US. Battery life and tank capacity matter, but you don't need a drone designed for 500-hectare operations. Coverage rate per hour matters more than absolute tank size.
When something breaks in the middle of a spraying window, you need parts within days not weeks. DJI has European distribution. XAG and Hylio's European support is more limited — worth considering before committing.
Drones under 25kg operate in the Open Category (simpler licensing). Drones over 25kg require Specific Category authorisation. For monitoring operations, staying under 25kg keeps compliance simple. For spraying, you'll be in Specific Category regardless of weight due to PPP rules.
The ability to pre-plan field missions with automated flight paths, variable rate application, and obstacle avoidance is the difference between a useful tool and an expensive toy. All serious agri-drones have this — but the quality varies significantly.
DJI Agras T40 — The Market Leader
DJI's Agras T40 is the dominant agri-drone globally, and for good reason. As of 2026 it represents the most mature, best-supported, and most capable spraying platform available to European operators. If you're seriously considering agri-drone operations in Ireland, this is the benchmark everything else is measured against.
DJI Agras T40
Why It Works for Irish Farms
The T40's standout feature for Irish conditions is its Active Phased Array Radar — an obstacle detection system that scans both forwards and downwards simultaneously. This is critical on Irish farms with hedgerows, ESB lines, water courses and variable terrain. It will brake to avoid obstacles automatically during autonomous missions.
DJI's Smart Farm system generates high-precision field maps before operations, allowing variable-rate application planning. This is exactly the kind of precision data that will be required under future Irish and EU regulations — you're building your compliance record as you spray.
The T40 also includes a spreading system (50kg hopper) for granular applications — seeds, fertiliser pellets, biological agents. This is unmatched by competitors and opens up additional use cases that are not subject to PPP regulations.
Irish Regulatory Position
At 47.5kg MTOW, the T40 falls into Specific Category regardless. However, Germany's national scenario explicitly covers drones under 50kg — the T40 fits within that framework. When Ireland creates its own derogation, the T40 is well-positioned to be compliant.
Limitations
Price is the main barrier — €25,000–€32,000 is a significant outlay for a tool that can't yet legally spray in Ireland. European parts availability, while better than competitors, can still mean 1–2 week waits for specific components. Battery charging infrastructure (you need multiple batteries and fast chargers for efficient operations) adds further cost.
XAG P100 Pro — The Chinese Challenger
XAG (formerly known as XAircraft) is DJI's main competitor in the agricultural drone market and the dominant brand across much of Southeast Asia, where agri-drone adoption is years ahead of Europe. The P100 Pro is their flagship, and in raw performance terms it matches or exceeds the T40 in several areas.
XAG P100 Pro
Strengths
XAG's coverage rate per hour is genuinely impressive — the P100 Pro's combination of speed and spray width makes it particularly suited to larger tillage operations. XAG also has strong credentials in vineyard work across southern Europe (where agri-drone adoption is most advanced), which provides a useful evidence base for EU regulatory submissions.
The P100 Pro's AI-powered obstacle detection system is competitive with DJI's radar, and XAG's farm management software platform is arguably more sophisticated than DJI's in terms of data analysis and reporting features — which matters if you're building a compliance record for regulatory purposes.
The Support Problem
This is where XAG falls short for Ireland specifically. DJI has well-established European distribution and service networks. XAG's European support infrastructure is thinner — parts availability, certified service centres, and local expertise are all significantly more limited. For a commercial operator depending on their equipment, this is a material risk. If you're buying XAG in Ireland, establish very clearly where your nearest certified service centre is and what the parts lead time looks like before committing.
Hylio AG-272 — The Budget-Friendly Option
Texas-based Hylio has carved out a niche with agri-drones that are meaningfully less expensive than DJI or XAG while still delivering serious agricultural capability. The AG-272 is their current flagship and represents an interesting option for Irish operators who want to get started without the full DJI price tag.
Hylio AG-272
The Case For Hylio
The AG-272 costs roughly half of a DJI T40. For a farmer wanting to experiment with precision monitoring and prepare for eventual spraying, this is a meaningful difference. The smaller payload (20L vs 40L) means more refill stops per field, but for the small-to-medium Irish farm holding of 20–50 acres per block, this is manageable.
Hylio's support has improved with European distributors, and the software is genuinely user-friendly — important when the person flying the drone is a farmer, not a professional drone pilot.
Limitations for Irish Use
The IP55 rating is the main concern — DJI's IP67 offers meaningfully better protection against Ireland's persistent damp. The smaller spray width (6m vs 9m) also significantly impacts efficiency on larger fields. And Hylio's support infrastructure in Europe remains thinner than DJI's.
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | DJI Agras T40 | XAG P100 Pro | Hylio AG-272 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tank capacity | 40L | 40L | 20L |
| Coverage/hour | ~40 acres | ~53 acres | ~25 acres |
| Wind tolerance | 10.8 m/s ✅ | 8 m/s | 8 m/s |
| IP Rating | IP67 ✅ | IP67 ✅ | IP55 |
| Obstacle avoidance | Radar (fwd + down) ✅ | AI camera | Basic sensors |
| Spreading system | Yes (50kg) ✅ | Yes | No |
| EU/IE support | Strong ✅ | Moderate | Limited |
| EASA weight category | Specific | Specific | Specific |
| Approx price (€) | €25k–€32k | €28k–€35k | €14k–€18k |
| Our rating | 9.2/10 | 8.1/10 | 7.4/10 |
The Irish Context: What the Research Shows
Your decision about which drone to buy — or whether to buy at all right now — has to be grounded in the Irish regulatory reality. Here is the honest picture:
Studies from Asia, the United States, and the European vineyards where agri-drone spraying is already approved consistently show pesticide reduction rates of 30–70% compared to tractor-based application. The technology is not in question. The issue is not whether agri-drones work — they demonstrably do. The issue is purely regulatory.
Ireland currently sits in a position where:
- No derogation from the aerial application ban exists under the transposed Sustainable Use Directive
- No plant protection products are licensed for aerial application in Ireland
- The IAA/EASA framework for the aviation side is broadly ready
- EU-level reform (the new SUR regulation) is explicitly creating the framework for Member States to grant drone spraying exemptions
The operators who will capture the Irish market when regulations open up are the ones getting licensed, building hours, accumulating data, and positioning themselves now — not the ones who wait until the law changes and then start from zero.
Our Verdict: What We'd Recommend for Irish Farmers Right Now
Best overall capability, best Irish weather resilience (IP67, 10.8m/s wind), best EU support network. Buy it for monitoring now, be ready to spray the day Ireland grants the derogation.
Superior coverage rate suits contractors operating at scale. Better software for precision data management. Viable if you can solve the support infrastructure question.
Half the price of DJI. Adequate for smaller holdings. Good starting point, but be prepared to upgrade when you scale up operations.