CBO: Shielding one US base from drones could cost $74 million
A Congressional Budget Office report lays out what it would actually cost the Pentagon to shield a single base from small drones, and the number runs into the tens of millions before the lights are even turned on.
Snapshot
The CBO's "Options to Counter Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems" report examined how the U.S. military can detect and defeat small hostile drones, from commercial quadcopters to larger attack systems. According to the report, no single system handles every threat, so a workable defense layers radar, jamming, lasers and physical interceptors together, at a steep price per installation.
Key points
- The price tag: the CBO report estimates roughly $74 million upfront to outfit one typical base with a layered counter-drone system, with about $5 million a year after that in upkeep, and a total projected cost of $7.4 billion.
- Layered defenses, not one fix: the report points to radar and radio-frequency detection, kinetic interceptors, and electronic warfare or directed-energy tools as the mix needed to cover different drone threats.
- Systems already in the field: the report names the Army's IFPC High-Powered Microwave System, Coyote interceptor drones, the BLADE gun-based tracking system, the Navy's ODIN laser, and the Bumblebee V2 drone-on-drone interceptor.
- Industry view: Cameron Chell, CEO of Draganfly Inc., told Military.com he favors drone-to-drone interceptors over jamming, arguing hostile drones can cycle frequencies and defeat electronic warfare more easily than a direct intercept.
Quick take
The CBO's numbers make clear that defending even one base from drones is an expensive, ongoing commitment, not a one-time purchase. Chell's comments to Military.com underscore why the Pentagon is betting on a mix of tools rather than a single silver bullet, since adversaries are adapting just as fast as American counter-drone technology is improving.
Read the full story: military.com