SAR Pricing
Two ways to deploy the SAR & patrol application layer on your MAVLink fleet.
SAR Integrated Fleet — Drone One
From €11,000 per drone
Our Belgium-built Drone One airframe with thermal payload, SAR autonomy software, integration and training — delivered as a complete turnkey system. Drone One is the airframe we sell as a turnkey bundle. SAR itself is software — it runs on any MAVLink-compatible industrial drone (PX4 or ArduPilot). Freefly Astro Max and Quantum Systems Trinity Pro are shown below as example compatible airframes for total-cost comparison — one in each common compliance regime (NDAA / Blue UAS, EU sovereignty). They're not the only choices; if your procurement specifies a different MAVLink airframe, SAR runs on that too.
| Configuration (Drone One) | Price | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| 1 drone | €11,000 | Evaluation SAR / Fire / Patrol pilot programmes |
| 3 drones · recommended | €30,000 | Continuous patrol with fleet relay (volume discount) |
| 5 drones | €49,000 | Large AOI coverage, sector patrol (volume discount) |
Multi-drone relay requires 2 or more drones. Continuous 24/7 patrol is area-dependent — expect a minimum of 3 drones with 9 batteries as a good combination for a single round-the-clock sector.
Example compatible airframes — total-cost comparison
SAR runs on any MAVLink-compatible industrial drone (PX4 or ArduPilot, with a companion computer for video and detection). Drone One is the turnkey bundle we sell. Astro Max and Trinity Pro below are example compatible airframes — chosen because they cover the two most common procurement compliance regimes (NDAA / Blue UAS for US federal, EU sovereignty for European agencies). Bundle prices are indicative, calculated from each vendor's published airframe pricing plus thermal addon and SAR licence. Bring a different MAVLink airframe and we'll quote the same way.
| Drone One TURNKEY BUNDLE | Freefly Astro Max EXAMPLE · NDAA | Quantum Systems Trinity Pro EXAMPLE · EU | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Origin | Belgium (own design) | USA (NDAA / Blue UAS) | Germany (EU sovereignty) |
| Best for | Evaluation SAR / Fire / Patrol pilot programmes; unmanned training; tight budgets | NDAA-compliant US federal SAR, mapping-heavy missions | EU sovereignty procurement, SAR, mapping-heavy missions |
| Endurance | ~18 min | ~37 min | ~90 min |
| Thermal | ✓ Included — dual EO/IR gimbal (4K visible + 640×512 thermal) | +€7,000 addon | +€13,000 addon |
| Airframe retail (hardware only) | ~€7,000 (own BOM) | ~€21,200 | ~€20,000 |
| Starting bundle (1 drone inc. thermal + SAR) | €11,000 | ~€32,000 | ~€40,000 |
| Starting bundle (3 drones inc. thermal + SAR) | €30,000 | ~€96,000 | ~€120,000 |
Astro Max and Trinity Pro are shown as example compatible airframes — SAR runs on any MAVLink-compatible drone, these two are illustrative of the typical NDAA and EU procurement options. Bundle figures are indicative, derived from each vendor's published airframe pricing plus thermal addon and SAR licence. The airframe is sourced from the vendor; A Drone Company supplies the SAR software licence, on-airframe integration, and operator training.
Universal inclusions (all platforms)
- SAR software (multi-drone relay, onboard detection, ground station) — perpetual v1 licence
- 2-day on-site deployment and training
- 12 months priority support and software updates
- Flight-campaign verification on your chosen airframe before delivery
Already have a MAVLink fleet? SAR Software Licence
From €3,000/drone/year
Autonomy software for your existing PX4, ArduPilot, or MAVLink-compatible drones. Remote install, email and community support.
- Full SAR Ground Station (single-drone SAR & fleet patrol)
- Fleet Advisor / SAR AI closed-loop tuning
- Onboard detection pipeline (requires companion computer per drone)
- Remote install + email support, community forum access
Which tier fits?
The software is the same in both tiers. The difference is how much of the stack we supply — do you bring your own MAVLink fleet, or do you want a turnkey fleet integrated and trained on-site?
| Integrated Fleet | Software Licence | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | €11,000/drone (Drone One, thermal incl.) | €3,000/drone/year |
| Hardware included | ✓ Industrial MAVLink airframe + companion computer | × bring your own MAVLink fleet |
| Multi-drone fleet relay | ✓ | ✓ |
| SAR Ground Station (live telemetry, video) | ✓ | ✓ |
| Onboard detection pipeline | ✓ Pre-integrated on companion computer | ✓ Requires companion computer per drone |
| On-site deployment & training | ✓ 2-day on-site | × Remote |
| Air-gapped deployment | Optional | Optional |
| Priority support | ✓ 12 months | Email + community |
| Best for | New SAR / patrol deployment; procurement needs turnkey hardware + software + training | Existing MAVLink fleets; research institutions; drone-forward agencies that already operate PX4 / ArduPilot aircraft |
Pricing FAQ
Can I start with one drone and add more later?
Yes. Integrated Fleet pricing is per-drone, so you can start with a 1-drone Evaluation bundle and add airframes incrementally. Bear in mind multi-drone relay needs at least 2 drones to function.
Is thermal really necessary?
For operational SAR, yes. Most real-world callouts happen at night, in fog, in smoke, or over dense canopy — conditions where visible-light detection fails. A dual EO/IR payload roughly doubles the area you can search per flight hour. Thermal is the whole point of flying a SAR mission at 02:00. For training, research, or visible-light-only roles, thermal is optional.
Can I bring my own drone?
Yes — that's the Software Licence tier. If your fleet is MAVLink-compatible (PX4 or ArduPilot autopilot), SAR will fly it. We run a flight-campaign verification on your chosen airframe before we go live, so the software is proven on your aircraft, not just ours.
What's included in the 2-day on-site deployment?
Flight configuration for each airframe in the fleet, operator training (up to 4 operators), a first-mission walk-through at your AOI, and handover of the SAR Ground Station to your team. We leave you with a working, tested deployment.
How long does deployment take?
Typically 6–10 weeks from purchase order to operational. That covers airframe procurement, payload integration, companion-computer build, flight-campaign verification on your chosen airframe, and on-site deployment. Software-only deployments on existing fleets are faster — usually 2–4 weeks.
Do you offer financing?
Not yet. We sell direct today. For public-sector buyers, we'll work with your procurement team on invoicing terms and grant-funded purchase cycles, and we're happy to participate in framework agreements where they exist. If financing becomes a priority for enough customers, we'll add it.
Not sure which option fits?
Book a 30-minute consultation and we'll walk through your mission profile and scope a configuration.
Book a consultation