Why there is no single price
The question "how much does counter-UAS cost" is like "how much does it cost to build a building." The answer is the same: it depends. Any honest estimate of drone protection cost starts not with a price list but with understanding the facility. There is no ready-made boxed price for an industrial-grade anti-drone system, and any supplier who quotes an exact figure before inspecting the site is either selling a generic stub or has padded the price "just in case."
The reason is simple: the price of an anti-drone system is made up of the configuration, and the configuration follows the physics of the specific site. The same brand will cover a 4 km perimeter and a 20 km perimeter with completely different amounts of equipment and people. In this article we honestly break down the four factors that determine the final cost, explain the "cheaper than losses" model, and show how a commercial proposal is formed after a free audit. There are no specific system-cost figures here on purpose — they cannot be named apart from the facility.
Factor 1: facility type and criticality
The first thing that determines cost is what exactly you are protecting and what the price of a breakthrough is. Different facilities require different architectures and different levels of redundancy:
- Premium residences — a compact perimeter, but high demands for discretion and the absence of false alarms.
- Data centers — continuity is critical; the cost of downtime is high, and reliability requirements for the line are maximal.
- Warehouses and logistics hubs — an extended perimeter with dense traffic around it.
- Agribusinesses and grain elevators — large areas, remoteness, a background of birds and farm machinery.
- Industrial sites and oil and gas facilities — fire and explosion hazard, where the interception method is critical (see Protecting Oil Storage & Refineries from Drones).
- Stadiums and events — temporary but dense cover for a mass gathering of people.
- Tankers, ships and linear objects — pipelines and power lines with a very extended contour.
The higher the criticality and the price of a breakthrough, the higher the requirements for covering directions, post redundancy and reaction time — and the more this is reflected in the configuration. Application scenarios by facility type are collected in the Use cases section of the landing page.
Factor 2: perimeter length and geometry
This is the most "material" cost factor. Counter-UAS is not a single point installation but a distributed detection-and-interception loop. The longer and more complex the perimeter, the more elements are needed to cover every approach direction without blind spots.
For a sense of scale, the VOLKODAV reference architecture for a 16+ km perimeter is useful:
| Element | What the perimeter adds |
|---|---|
| CP — control post | AI classification server, operator workstation, power up to 10 kW, UPS. Usually one per facility. |
| OP — observation posts | 360-degree thermal imager. In the reference ×7 — the number grows with perimeter length and terrain complexity. |
| RRG — response groups | Ground control station, pilot console, 2-person crew, 24/7. In the reference ×4 — spaced out to cover directions. |
| Interceptor drone | Video camera + onboard AI. The fleet scales with the size and intensity of the threat. |
Geometry matters as much as length: a broken contour, terrain elevation changes, tree belts and buildings create blind spots that have to be covered by additional posts. So two facilities with the same perimeter length can differ noticeably in cost. The technical parameters of the elements are in the Specs section of the landing page.
Factor 3: climate and autonomy
Operating conditions directly affect the build of the equipment and, consequently, the cost. VOLKODAV is rated for harsh conditions:
- Interceptor temperature range — from −30 to +45 °C, operation in wind up to 10 m/s.
- Arctic-grade post build — cooled 360-degree thermal imagers with autonomous power for remote and northern sites.
- Power and link autonomy — facilities without stable infrastructure (linear objects, remote agribusinesses) require their own power supply and redundancy.
The harsher the climate and the farther the facility from infrastructure, the higher the requirements for the build and autonomy — and the more this is baked into the configuration. The ability to make decisions onboard, without the cloud and without a stable link, is a basic property of VOLKODAV's edge-AI, and it is exactly what makes the system applicable in areas without coverage (more in the article One AI module — two tasks).
Factor 4: level of protection and the nature of the threat
The fourth factor is which class of threat must be covered and with how much margin. Protection against single amateur quadcopters and protection against a swarm of autonomous fiber-optic FPV are different levels, requiring different line density and redundancy.
Here it is important to understand the difference between methods. EW cheaply cuts off simple radio-controlled targets but is powerless against fiber optics and onboard autonomy. Kinetic interception is more expensive per "shot" but closes exactly those threats where jamming fails. So the level of protection is not only "how many posts" but also "which method and in what combination." The full comparison is in the article Kinetic Drone Interception vs Jamming (EW) and in the EW section on the landing page.
The level of protection is set by the customer based on the threat model. VOLKODAV is designed as a kinetic layer on top of existing detection means and EW — this avoids overpaying where existing lines are enough and reinforces the defense precisely where there is a gap.
The "protection is cheaper than losses" model
The main mistake when evaluating counter-UAS is to look only at the absolute price of the system. The right frame is to compare it with the cost of one successful breakthrough. At critical facilities this comparison almost always falls in favor of protection:
- Production downtime — halting the process chain for days or weeks hits revenue harder than the cost of any line.
- Loss of equipment — replacing expensive units with long lead times.
- Loss of product and feedstock — especially in oil and gas and logistics.
- Environmental and regulatory consequences — fines, remediation, investigations.
- Reputation and contracts — disrupted deliveries and loss of partner trust.
When the cost of a breakthrough is orders of magnitude higher than the cost of a permanent line, the question "is this expensive" turns into "how much does it cost not to be protected." This is exactly why a sound estimate of drone protection cost is always tied to the risk prevented for a specific facility, not to an abstract price.
What is included in the counter-UAS cost
For the price to be comparable between proposals, it is important to understand the system composition. In the VOLKODAV solution the cost covers not "hardware on a shelf" but a working turnkey line:
- Control post (CP) — AI classification server, operator workstation, power and UPS.
- Observation posts (OP) — 360-degree thermal imagers in the required build and quantity.
- Rapid response groups (RRG) — ground stations, pilot consoles, crews.
- Fleet of interceptor drones — video camera and onboard AI, guidance independent of GPS in the final phase.
- Deployment (30–45 days) — audit, assembly, logistics, installation and tuning of AI classification to the facility's background.
- Crew and 24/7 duty — a crew of 8 (5 UAV operators and 3 technicians, each with at least a year of drone-interception experience).
The site audit is free. The decision logic and system composition are described in the How it works section of the landing page.
How a quote is formed after the audit
The cost calculation process is transparent and tied to the deployment stages:
- Free audit (3–5 days) — surveying the perimeter, assessing threats and terrain, marking out critical points, sizing the architecture for the specific site.
- Commercial proposal with NDA specification — based on the audit, a quote is formed with the exact system composition, interception lines, timelines and service terms. The detailed specification is handed over under a non-disclosure agreement.
- Contract — fixing the configuration, timelines and terms.
- Preparation, deployment and going on duty — 20–30 days for logistics and installation, then the crew goes on 24/7 duty.
This order guarantees that the price reflects the real task, not an averaged price list. You pay for a line sized for your perimeter, climate and threat model — without overpaying for the unnecessary and without blind spots in the defense.
Conclusion
The cost of protecting a facility from drones cannot be named as a single figure, and that is an honest answer, not an evasion. The price of an anti-drone system is made up of the facility type, the length and geometry of the perimeter, the climate and the required level of protection — four factors visible only on the specific site. That is why VOLKODAV does not publish a fixed price but calculates the cost individually.
The right evaluation frame is the "protection is cheaper than losses" model: at critical facilities the cost of a single breakthrough is many times greater than the cost of a permanent line. The first step toward a precise figure is a free audit, after which you receive a quote with an NDA specification tailored to your facility. Start with an audit request — it commits you to nothing and gives a real estimate rather than an abstract price.