Skydio Dock for X10: Earhart v47.70.15 - 12 November 2026 (FCA)
Published: Updated:
| Release date | November 12, 2026 (FCA) |
|---|---|
| Skydio X10 drone version | 47.70.15 |
| Skydio External Radio version | 47.70.15 |
| Skydio Dock version | 47.70.15 |
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Critical Security Update: Expedite Your Fleet Upgrade
A critical security vulnerability (CVE-2026-98432, CVSS 9.8) has been discovered in Linux, a widely used operating system that powers devices and infrastructure across many industries, including Skydio products. This is an industry-wide vulnerability, not an issue unique to Skydio.
Skydio has developed security fixes to address this vulnerability in the latest software release, Earhart. Given the severity of the issue and the potential for publicly available exploits, we strongly recommend updating your entire Skydio fleet immediately.
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This release introduces Auto-NightSense, the ThermalBoost blended thermal view, an early low-battery return warning in Remote Flight Deck, and improved channel selection for hives, along with bug fixes and stability improvements.
Auto-NightSense
Platforms: Controllers/X10, Dock for X10
NightSense now has an Auto setting alongside On and Off. With NightSense set to Auto, the drone turns on its NightSense lights and night obstacle avoidance automatically when it gets dark, without prompting the Pilot, and turns them off again when they are no longer needed. Auto is the default.
- Low Light Mode is no longer a separate setting. Pilots manage NightSense modules from a single NightSense control, and the "Switch to Low Light Mode?" prompt no longer appears.
- Top speed with NightSense on — While NightSense is on, top speed is limited to 18 mph (8 m/s), including Fly Here Now and Shadow Follow.
- NightSense Off — If a Pilot sets NightSense to Off, it stays off for the rest of the flight.
Organization Admins can set NightSense defaults for the organization in Skydio Cloud:
- NightSense Default Mode — The NightSense mode at takeoff: Auto (default), On, or Off.
- Auto-Off When Using Pathfinder — Turns NightSense, and with it obstacle avoidance, off while the drone flies a Pathfinder route, for faster transits. On by default.
- Auto-Off When Using Boost — Turns NightSense off during Boost so the drone can reach top speed. Off by default.
- Auto-On When GPS Is Degraded — Turns NightSense on in low light when GPS is degraded or lost, so obstacle avoidance keeps working on the way back. On by default.
Get Started
- Controller — Open the NightSense quick action and select Auto, On, or Off.
- Remote Flight Deck — Select the NightSense button and choose Auto, On, or Off.
- Skydio Cloud — Go to Settings > Flight Settings to set the organization's NightSense defaults.
The NightSense control appears only when NightSense attachments are installed.
Obstacle Avoidance in Low Light Conditions
Platforms: Controllers/X10, Dock for X10
Obstacle avoidance now stays on in low light conditions when NightSense is off, or on a drone without NightSense attachments. Previously, flying in low light without NightSense meant switching to Low Light Mode, which turned obstacle avoidance off.
- In these conditions obstacle avoidance is degraded. An Obstacle Avoidance Degraded badge and border warn the Pilot.
- Shadow Follow is unavailable until obstacle avoidance recovers.
ThermalBoost: Blended Color and Thermal View
Platforms: Dock for X10
ThermalBoost is a new view in Remote Flight Deck that blends the color camera and thermal camera into a single video stream. Where the color camera has a clear view, the blend keeps its color and detail; where the color image is obscured, such as by darkness or smoke, it draws on the thermal camera. Pilots can turn on ThermalBoost from the Thermal Palette list in the thermal camera settings.
- Recording and photos — Video recorded to the drone's SD card is always the standard, unblended thermal image. Photos taken while ThermalBoost is active save both the blended image and the standard thermal image.
- Color video quality — Only the Pilot can turn on ThermalBoost. While it is on, the color video is shown at reduced quality everywhere it is viewed, including FlightCast, ReadyLinks, and picture-in-picture.
- Zoom — Zoom is limited to the thermal camera's maximum zoom while ThermalBoost is active.
- Close-range subjects — Subjects very close to the drone may appear slightly misaligned between the color and thermal layers.
Switching back to the Color Camera turns off ThermalBoost automatically. Full color quality resumes and the thermal palette resets to the one selected before ThermalBoost.
Early Warning Before Low-Battery Return to Dock
Platforms: Dock for X10
Remote Flight Deck now warns the Pilot about 30 seconds before the drone starts a low-battery return to Dock. The new Low Battery Warning ("Drone will initiate return soon.") gives the Pilot time to finish the current task, or to prepare to cancel the return when the "Return Battery Capacity Reached" prompt appears.
Automatic return behavior is unchanged: the existing "Return Battery Capacity Reached" countdown still follows the warning. The timing is an estimate and can change based on how the drone is flown after the warning appears.
Faster Shadow Follow
Platforms: Controllers/X10, Dock for X10
Shadow Follow can now reach a top speed of 45 mph (20 m/s) when following a subject, so the drone can keep pace with faster-moving vehicles. With NightSense on, the drone's top speed is restricted to 18 mph (8 m/s).
Improved Automatic Channel Selection for Hives
Platforms: Dock for X10, External Radio
For sites using Hive Automatic Channel Selection, Docks now choose cleaner, stronger SkydioLink channels:
- Higher-power UNII-3 channels can now be used as primary channels.
- The External Radio scans channels in the background while the drone is not flying, and its results are combined with the drone's own scans.
- Channel selection now detects more situations in which switching to a different channel would improve the link.
Hive Automatic Channel Selection is available in the United States only.
Additional Improvements
- Smoother SkydioLink video — Video bitrate now adapts more smoothly to link conditions, delivering higher quality at close range and a more gradual reduction as the connection weakens
- More pre-flight takeoff messages in Remote Flight Deck — Remote Flight Deck now explains why takeoff is blocked for more pre-flight conditions, such as a drone battery that is still self-heating or a firmware update in progress on the infrared camera, NightSense, or a Dropper attachment, before the Pilot presses Fly Now
Fixes
- Resolved an issue where a "Battery Unsupported" fault could appear in error and block takeoff
- Resolved an issue where Flight Envelope Protection could cause hard landings
- Resolved a rare issue where an invalid GPS time fix could set the wrong system time, so flight data showed an incorrect date or time
- Improved Pathfinder, autonomous flight, and return reliability, including more accurate return time estimates and steadier flight paths
Known Issues
The following known issues for Dock for X10 exist in this release:
- Backtrack return may not reach the Dock after a Pathfinder flight at night — When NightSense is set to turn off automatically while using Pathfinder and the Return Path is set to Backtrack, a low-battery return during a Pathfinder flight starts as Up and Over. If the Pilot cancels that return and starts a new one, the drone uses Backtrack and may not have enough battery to reach the Dock. When flying Pathfinder routes at night, set the Return Path to Pathfinder.
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ThermalBoost view may shake during subject tracking in the following circumstances:
- Tracking a fast subject in Low Light mode — When ThermalBoost is active and the camera is in Low Light mode, the blended view may shake or jump while the drone tracks a fast-moving subject, such as a vehicle traveling faster than about 30 mph (48 km/h). To avoid this, select another thermal palette or stop tracking the subject.
- Tracking a subject in Standard mode — When ThermalBoost is active and the camera is in Standard mode, the blended view may wobble slightly, about once per second, while the drone tracks a moving subject. This is more noticeable when the thermal video tears, which is most common when the drone's LTE signal is poor. Moving to an area with better LTE coverage or disabling the drone's LTE connection may reduce the issue.
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