Drone Connectors and Cable Assemblies

Interconnect for commercial and consumer UAVs — swappable battery packs, high-current ESC runs, sealed payload ports and ultra-fine-pitch flex, specified against a mass budget where every gram is flight time.

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Why an Airframe Changes the Math

Grams Are Minutes

Connector mass comes directly out of endurance. A harness decision that would be irrelevant on a factory robot is a specification argument on an airframe.

Very High Discharge

A multirotor pulls enormous current on takeoff and in gusts. The pack interface has to carry it continuously without a temperature rise that eats into the cell budget.

Swapped, Not Charged

Commercial operators swap packs between sorties rather than waiting on a charger, so the battery interface sees mating cycles measured in thousands, often in the field with gloves on.

Flown in Weather

Survey and inspection work does not stop for drizzle. Sealed external ports and a pack interface rated when unmated are what let an aircraft keep working.

Endurance Is Designed at the Connector

Drones have become working tools for aerial imaging, survey, warehouse delivery, agriculture and emergency response. Each of those roles is ultimately limited by the same number: how long the aircraft stays up, and how quickly it can be turned around for the next sortie.

Interconnect touches both. Harness mass and connector housings come straight out of the endurance budget. The pack interface determines whether a swap takes ten seconds on a wet field or needs careful alignment. And the current path from cells through distribution to the ESCs decides how much energy is lost as heat rather than lift.

Amphenol supplies high-reliability interconnect across the airframe — power delivery, battery management, flight control and payload — supporting longer flight, accurate control and dependable sensing in conditions that change quickly.

Featured Products — Power and Battery

DuraSwap™ Connectors

Swappable pack interface rated for field turnaround

A swappable docking connector built for exactly the pattern commercial UAV operators actually use: land, swap, fly again. Two power and six signal contacts carrying up to 70 A continuous, rated at 10,000 mating cycles, and IP67 both mated and unmated — so an exposed pack contact survives the weather between sorties.

Current: 15 A to 70 A continuous
Durability: 10,000 mating cycles
Sealing: IP67 in both mated and unmated conditions
Blind mate: guide pins allow ±1 mm misalignment
Configuration: 2 power and 6 signal contacts
Safety: FMLB on power terminals prevents hot plugging
Keying: unidirectional mating with Poka-Yoke against mismating
Temperature: −20 °C to +90 °C

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Minitek® Pwr 5.7

30 A per contact from distribution to the ESCs

A 5.70 mm wire-to-board power system rated to 30 A per contact across 2 to 12 circuits, taking 16 to 10 AWG. This is the workhorse between the distribution board and the speed controllers, with a scoop-proof housing and TPA secondary locking so a terminal cannot back out under vibration.

Current: up to 30 A per contact
Wire gauge: 16 AWG to 10 AWG
Circuits: 2 to 12, dual row
Locking: TPA secondary lock, positive thumb latch
Corrosion: pre-plated terminals resist salt spray and gas corrosion
Temperature: −40 °C to +120 °C
Materials: UL 94 V-0 LCP, halogen-free, RoHS

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PwrBlade+®

High-density distribution for large multirotors

Worth being precise about this one: PwrBlade+® is a rack and industrial power connector, specified around 1U/2U supplies and EV charging rather than airframes. It appears here because on a large multirotor or eVTOL-class platform, 58 A per contact and 192 A per linear inch is the density the power distribution board actually needs.

Current: up to 58 A per high-power contact at 30 °C rise
Density: 192 A per linear inch with eight contacts energised
Resistance: 0.70 mΩ after environmental exposure
Low-power option: up to 40 A per contact for mixed voltages
Cooling: highly vented housing design
Hybrid: power and signal in a single moulded housing
Configurability: modularly tooled, right-angle and coplanar

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Featured Products — Control, Sensing and Payload

0.30mm FPC Connectors (F14D / F13S)

Ultra-fine-pitch flex to the flight controller and gimbal

A right-angle ZIF flex connector at 0.30 mm pitch and just 1.0 mm height, for flight-controller and gimbal-camera runs where a discrete harness would cost both space and mass. The front flip lock gives strong FPC retention, which Amphenol specifies as vibration-proof — the relevant property on a machine that never stops shaking.

Pitch: 0.30 mm at 1.0 mm mated height
Positions: 7 to 71 (F14D), 11 to 61 (F13S)
FPC thickness: 0.20 mm
Mechanism: ZIF with front flip lock, bottom-side contact
Mating life: zero insertion force removes frictional wear
Assembly: designed against solder and flux wicking
Compliance: lead-free and halogen-free

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HVLock® High Voltage Platform

Cell monitoring and high-voltage battery management

A 4.50 mm pitch wire-to-board platform for the battery-management side of the pack — cell voltage sensing, passive balancing, insulation and relay detection, pre-charge. Rated to 1200 V AC working voltage with both Connector Position Assurance and Primary Lock Reinforcement.

Working voltage: 1200 V AC
Current: 3 A nominal per contact
Pitch: 4.50 mm, wire gauge up to 20 AWG
Locking: CPA second lock plus Primary Lock Reinforcement
Qualification: USCAR-2 / LV-214 compatible
Keying: two coding options against mechanical mismatching
Plating: tin, gold or silver

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Waterproof USB Type-C

Sealed service, payload and fast-charge port

One external port covering power delivery, data offload and video output, sealed to IPX8 through liquid silicone rubber bonding and O-ring technology. For a survey aircraft that means card offload and charging through a single sealed opening in the shell rather than three.

Sealing: IPX8, with IPX4 to IPX8 across the range
Speed: up to 40 Gb/s (USB4)
Power: up to 240 W, 5 A extended current rating
Protocols: USB 2.0, USB 3.2 Gen 1 and Gen 2, USB4
All-in-one: power delivery, data and video in one connector
Durability: mid-plate tongue design resists mishandling
Orientation: reversible plug and cable

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Choosing a Power Interface

Feature	DuraSwap™	Minitek® Pwr 5.7	PwrBlade+®
Role	Swappable pack interface	Distribution to ESCs	High-density distribution board
Interface	Docking connector	Wire-to-board	Board-level power system
Current	15 A to 70 A continuous	30 A per contact	58 A per contact
Mating cycles	10,000	Standard wire-to-board	Not a field-mated interface
Sealing	IP67 mated and unmated	Unsealed	Unsealed
Blind mate	±1 mm via guide pins	Polarised, scoop-proof	Half-bullet guides
Best suited to	The pack the operator swaps in the field	Runs from distribution out to each motor	Large airframes needing rack-class density

Frequently Asked Questions

DuraSwap™ is built for it. It carries 15 A to 70 A continuous across two power and six signal contacts, is rated at 10,000 mating cycles, and is IP67 both mated and unmated — which matters because a swappable pack spends part of its life with the contacts exposed. Guide pins give ±1 mm of blind-mate tolerance, and FMLB on the power terminals prevents hot plugging.

Not originally. Its datasheet is written around 1U and 2U power supplies, storage enclosures, telecom equipment and EV charging. It appears in Amphenol’s drone section because the electrical requirement converges: a large multirotor’s distribution board needs current density that rack power connectors already solve, at 58 A per contact and 192 A per linear inch. On a small airframe it is the wrong part — use Minitek® Pwr 5.7 instead.

Replace discrete wiring with flex wherever the run is board-to-board. The 0.30 mm FPC connectors mate at 1.0 mm height with 0.20 mm FPC and support 7 to 71 positions, so a flight-controller or gimbal run that would otherwise be a bundle of discrete wires becomes a single flat conductor. Zero insertion force also removes frictional mating wear, which helps on assemblies opened repeatedly for service.

HVLock® is the platform for that side of the battery: cell voltage sensing, passive balancing, insulation detection, relay adhesion detection and pre-charge. It is a 4.50 mm pitch wire-to-board connector at 3 A nominal per contact with a 1200 V AC working voltage, carrying Connector Position Assurance and Primary Lock Reinforcement, and is USCAR-2 / LV-214 compatible.

Yes. The Waterproof USB Type-C range supports power delivery up to 240 W, data to 40 Gb/s under USB4, and video output through the same connector, sealed to IPX8. For a field aircraft that means one sealed opening in the shell instead of separate charge, data and video ports — fewer seals to fail and less panel area.

Vibration is the constant on a multirotor, so it is specified rather than assumed. The 0.30 mm FPC front flip lock is described as giving strong FPC retention that is vibration-proof; Minitek® Pwr 5.7 adds TPA secondary locking with high retention force in the housing; and HVLock® carries both CPA and Primary Lock Reinforcement. DuraSwap™ uses unidirectional mating with Poka-Yoke keying against mismating during a hurried swap.

Yes, and it is usually the right approach where routing is tight. DuraSwap™ is offered as connector plus cable assembly, and lengths and terminations can be configured to the airframe layout. Send us the current, the routing path and the sealing requirement and we will quote the assembly.

Designing a UAV?

Tell us the pack current, the mass budget and whether the interface lives inside the shell or outside it. We will work back to a part, samples and full datasheets.