About - Elevon Aerial Ag

ABOUT ELEVON AERIAL AG

We started in agriculture, expanded into turf and horticulture, and ultimately returned to where we believe drone technology can make the greatest real-world difference: row-crop agriculture.

WHY WE'RE HERE

Our Mission

To deliver reliable, field-proven agricultural drones backed by responsive, honest people and priced to provide real value. We believe advanced drone technology should be practical, dependable, and accessible to the farmers and applicators who use it every day.

Our Vision

To make agricultural drone technology reliable, affordable, and accessible to everyone who needs it—without compromising performance, service, or integrity.

Elevon Aerial Ag Z80 drone spraying corn field4

Better drones. Honest support. Real value.

WHAT WE STAND FOR

Here's What We'll Never Compromise On

Field-Proven

Three full growing seasons on real U.S. farms.

We've spent three full growing seasons testing our platform and improving it using real U.S. farms, all before the Elevon name ever went on a drone. We didn't rush a redesign to market. You're not the test case.

Honest & Simple

We tell you what the drone can actually do—not what looks good on a sales sheet.

Our acres-per-hour numbers are based on real-world operating conditions, not best-case scenarios, so you can plan for the right application, consistent coverage, and quality results acre after acre.

Transparent Pricing

What's on the sheet is what you pay.

We believe the cost of owning a spray drone should be clear from the beginning. Registration and compliance support are included in our package, so you know what you’re getting before you put the drone to work.

We also work hard to keep ownership costs under control. And because every working drone eventually needs parts and maintenance, we’re committed to keeping replacement parts available and reasonably priced.

Compliance Comes First

We’re building Elevon for the long term

We work to address registration and applicable compliance requirements before your drone goes to work, and every Elevon unit is equipped with Remote ID as required.

Our Z30, Z50, and Z80 platforms have also received Department of War Conditional Approval and are not on the FCC Covered List under the applicable approval framework.

Meet the Team

Jim Rafferty, Co-Owner

Co-Owner & Co-Founder

Jim brings nearly four decades of engineering, project management, and manufacturing experience to Elevon Aerial Ag, including a long career with Anheuser-Busch Corporate Engineering.

He knows how to take complicated equipment and make it work in the real world. After turning his attention to agricultural drones, Jim quickly applied that engineering mindset to the Z-Series by evaluating everything from mechanical systems and reliability to assembly and field performance.

If it needs to work, Jim wants to understand why, and make sure it does.

James Rafferty, Co-Owner

President and Co-Founder

James brings a career in plant health and agricultural application, along with years of experience building and serving customers through a successful application business in the St. Louis region.

His experience taught him something simple: the equipment matters, but the people standing behind it matter just as much. James has built his approach around listening to customers, understanding what they need in the field, and being there when they need support.

For James, “back them up with honest people” isn’t a slogan. It’s how you build a business.

A Working History Dedicated to Ag

2019

KT Precision, founded by Mark Black and Matt Brooks. Mark and Matt spent time testing different brands of drones to ensure KT was using the best technology. As the first applicator approved by the STL FSDO, they became a leader in the spray drone business with features from local radio and even PBS.

2022

KT Precision started testing the EFT drone technology in the United States.

2024

KT Precision was sold to James Rafferty, where James continued to provide precision aerial drone applications throughout the St. Louis area. KT Precision still provides precision applications today.

2025

Elevon Aerial was formed by James Rafferty and his father, Jim Rafferty. James has a lifelong career in plant health where he prioritized customer service, allowing him to build a large business in St. Louis. Jim, a lifelong engineer at Anheuser Busch, was the perfect complement to James. Jim knows how things work and easily learned the engineering of drones. Elevon drones were developed off of the EFT frames and modified with US sourced hardware and software.

2026

While continuing to engineer and develop new drones, Elevon was awarded a Conditional Approval from the Department of War, removing them from the FCC’s Covered List. The Elevon Z30, Elevon Z50, and Elevon Z80 are set to launch Fall of 2026.

where we're going

On the Path to American Made

We believe the future of agricultural drones in America should be built in America.

Today, the Elevon Z-Series is assembled in the United States under the Elevon name, using a combination of domestic and international components. We’re transparent about where we are today because our customers deserve the facts, not marketing language that overpromises.

But where we are today is not where we intend to stop.

We’re actively moving the Z-Series toward greater U.S. content, domestic sourcing, and American engineering with a focus on the critical systems that matter most, including flight control, positioning, software, and other key components.

Our platform has already gone through three full growing seasons of real-world testing before carrying the Elevon name. Now we’re taking that same methodical approach to building a more American supply chain: one component, one supplier, and one improvement at a time.

Our goal is not to simply put an American name on an imported drone.

Our goal is to build an American agricultural drone company.

Let's Talk

Build Your Drone Package

Tell us about your operation and we'll build you a custom quote with registration and compliance already included.

Build Your Package

Built by People Who Work in Agriculture