Elite versions of Crew and Officers have +3 QL (quality level), and +3 max quality level (their max quality level is 13).

Elite versions of Weapons, Buildings, Vehicles, do not display a Quality Level.

Instead, they see many (nearly all) of their attributes augmented, usually by +3 score. This sometimes double their efficiency.

For instance, an Elite Drone has 6 Speed (instead of 3). It has QL 8 scanners (instead of QL 5).

This means it moves two times faster, is two times stealthier, two times more resistant, and explores two times faster too. This drone has high value and is still upgradable, and can double its attributes!