Drone-in-a-box perimeter ISR
The site watches itself, no crew on the fence
Overview
A battery-swapping station with a resident quadcopter that launches, patrols and re-docks without anyone at the perimeter. The station, the drone, the ground station and the cloud link through a mesh network with AES 128/256 encryption, so the picture and the commands travel protected. The drone launches from up to 2,500 m above sea level, works at 500 m above ground or higher, and flies a 45-minute sortie with an EO/IR camera at sea level before it swaps its own battery and goes again. For a base or a critical site, it turns perimeter surveillance into a standing capability rather than a task that competes for people.
Perimeter surveillance as a standing capability, not a task that competes for people: a battery-swapping station whose drone launches, patrols and re-docks on its own over an encrypted mesh.
How it comes to you
Unstrat is the authorised global representative and distributor for this capability. It is already in service with a track record behind it, so you are buying something that has done the job elsewhere, not funding a first attempt. You are not the test bed.
Why Unstrat: the difference
Independent, non-aligned origin, with no political exposure to any major-power ecosystem.
One accountable team from first briefing through delivery and in-region sustainment.
Mesh network from drone to dock to ground station to cloud, secured with AES 128/256 encryption.
Capabilities
- Battery-swapping station with a resident quadcopter
- Mesh network drone to dock to ground station to cloud
- AES 128/256 encryption across the link
- Launch from up to 2,500 m above sea level
- Operation at 500 m above ground or higher
- 45-minute sortie with an EO/IR camera at sea level
Specifications
| Type | Drone-in-a-box perimeter ISR |
| Station | Battery-swapping dock with quadcopter |
| Network | Mesh: drone / dock / GCS / cloud |
| Encryption | AES 128/256 |
| Launch altitude | 2,500 m AMSL |
| Operational altitude | 500 m AGL or higher |
| Endurance | 45 min with EO/IR camera at sea level |
| Origin | Independent / non-aligned |
| Support | In-region sustainment |
How it reaches you
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Procurement & sustainment
Classification and the end-user-certificate chain are confirmed before this capability is represented to your market.
Sourced from an independent manufacturer: no major-power disclosure rules or political conditions.
A single team responsible from first briefing through delivery: not a chain of foreign primes to integrate yourself.
Lifecycle support and operator training delivered in-region, building capability that outlasts the initial deployment.
Questions buyers ask
What is a drone-in-a-box?
It is a battery-swapping station holding a resident drone that flies EO/IR sorties from the dock, swapping batteries between them. Ours flies a 45-minute sortie with an EO/IR camera at sea level, launches from up to 2,500 m above sea level, and runs an encrypted mesh from the drone through the dock to the ground station and cloud. How much of the launch, sortie and swap cycle runs without an operator is a question for technical review.
See: How it compares to a manual patrolSurveillance drones in the fleet
How long is each drone-in-a-box sortie?
45 minutes with an EO/IR camera at sea level, after which the drone returns to the dock for a battery swap before the next sortie. That is what lets the watch run as a repeated pattern rather than a single flight, so plan the coverage cycle around it. How much of the swap and relaunch cycle runs without an operator is a question for technical review.
Is the video from a drone-in-a-box encrypted?
Yes. It runs a mesh network from the drone to the dock to the ground station to the cloud with AES 128/256 encryption on the link. That protects the link itself; it does not on its own settle where the data is stored or who holds the keys. For a defence perimeter, where surveillance data leaving your control is a security issue, treat the encrypted link as the starting point and fix hosting and key custody as a contractual point during procurement.
What does a drone-in-a-box replace on a perimeter?
It replaces the routine, repeated part of a manual patrol, not the human response. The station handles the repeated watch and the overhead EO/IR sensor picture; people move from walking the line to supervising it and responding when something is found.
Autonomous perimeter surveillance that does not consume guards
That is the change a drone-in-a-box aims at. A resident drone flies the watch from the station rather than rostered people walking the line, so the routine watch runs on a machine, and it adds an overhead EO/IR sensor a ground patrol does not have. How much of the launch, sortie and swap cycle runs without an operator is a question for technical review. People are freed for the tasks that actually need a person.
Drone-in-a-box station for a high-altitude site
It launches from up to 2,500 m above sea level and operates at 500 m above ground or higher, so a high site is inside its stated envelope. Confirm your specific launch altitude against that ceiling in the technical review rather than assuming it.
Dock-based perimeter drone where we can control where the surveillance data goes
The mesh runs drone to dock to ground station to cloud with AES 128/256 encryption on the link. That secures the link but does not by itself determine hosting or key custody, so whether the data path stays inside your own network rather than a vendor's ecosystem is a point to confirm during procurement. For a defence perimeter, where the surveillance feed leaving your control is a security question, settle that contractually rather than treating it as an IT preference.
Drone-in-a-box that feeds a wider fleet command layer
The station produces an EO/IR feed and telemetry. The same principal builds a separate fleet command-and-control suite designed to run many drones as one operation and to fit any drone with no airframe modification. We do not publish a proven integration between this station and that suite, so treat them as built to work together and confirm the actual integration at trial. Scope the command architecture into the review from the start.
Perimeter drone station from a non-aligned supplier
It comes from an independent, non-aligned supplier with one accountable team and in-region sustainment. Because the station produces a live EO/IR surveillance feed of your own perimeter while the drone is on its 45-minute sortie, that independent, non-aligned origin with one accountable team and in-region sustainment is part of the reason to look at it. Whether that feed is recorded, where any data is hosted and who holds the keys is a separate matter the hardware sourcing does not settle, so fix data handling contractually during procurement.
We still patrol a large perimeter by foot and vehicle. What does a drone-in-a-box change?
It moves the routine watch from people to a machine and adds an overhead sensor. A resident drone flies 45-minute EO/IR sorties from the station, so coverage stops being bounded by how many people are rostered and awake, and stops putting people on dangerous or observed ground just to keep eyes on the line. How much of the launch, sortie and swap cycle runs without an operator is a question for technical review. People still make the human decisions and the physical response; the routine no longer consumes them.
How much perimeter can one station realistically cover?
That is an honest open point: we do not publish a patrol radius or coverage area per station, only the 45-minute sortie length and the launch and operating altitudes. So the number of stations for a given perimeter is a technical-review question rather than something to read off the page. Bring your perimeter geometry and the tempo you need, and size the coverage to it.
Will an autonomous station keep flying in the weather our perimeter actually sees?
Availability depends on the weather envelope, and that is a gap worth closing early: we do not publish an all-weather or wind figure for the resident drone. An autonomous watch is only as continuous as the conditions let it fly, so put the wind and weather envelope in writing in the technical review and specify against what your site records rather than assuming round-the-clock availability.
How is the surveillance data secured and kept out of a foreign vendor's cloud?
The link runs AES 128/256 across the mesh from drone to dock to ground station to cloud, which secures the link. It does not by itself determine where the data lives or who holds the keys, so whether the data path stays inside your own network rather than a foreign ecosystem is a point to confirm during procurement. For a defence perimeter, settle where the data lives and who holds the keys in the contract, not as an afterthought.
Can the station feed a command post rather than a standalone screen?
Its encrypted EO/IR feed and telemetry are produced at the station. The same principal builds a separate fleet command-and-control suite designed to aggregate telemetry and deconflict many drones as one operation and to fit any drone with no airframe modification. We do not publish a proven integration between this station and that suite, so treat them as built to work together and confirm the actual fit at trial. Bring your command and control architecture to the review so the station's feed is scoped into it from the start rather than added afterwards.
See: Command and control across the fleetGround sensor fusion
How is an autonomous perimeter capability kept sovereign?
By sourcing the station, its drone and its support from one independent, non-aligned team with in-region sustainment. The station gives a live EO/IR picture of your own perimeter while the drone is on its 45-minute sortie, so that independent, non-aligned origin with one accountable team and in-region sustainment is the sovereign position. Whether that feed is recorded, where any data is hosted and who holds the encryption keys is not settled by the hardware sourcing or by the AES link encryption, so fix recording, hosting and key custody as a contractual point up front during procurement.
Drone-in-a-box perimeter ISR: questions
What is Drone-in-a-box perimeter ISR?
Drone-in-a-box perimeter ISR is Unstrat's Sky (Air Domain) capability: A battery-swapping station with a resident quadcopter that launches, patrols and re-docks without anyone at the perimeter. The station, the drone, the ground station and the cloud link through a mesh network with AES 128/256 encryption, so the picture and the commands travel protected. The drone launches from up to 2,500 m above sea level, works at 500 m above ground or higher, and flies a 45-minute sortie with an EO/IR camera at sea level before it swaps its own battery and goes again. For a base or a critical site, it turns perimeter surveillance into a standing capability rather than a task that competes for people.
How does Drone-in-a-box perimeter ISR work?
Drone-in-a-box perimeter ISR delivers its effect through Battery-swapping station with a resident quadcopter, Mesh network drone to dock to ground station to cloud and AES 128/256 encryption across the link, capabilities matched to the requirement and confirmed under briefing rather than published.
Who makes Drone-in-a-box perimeter ISR?
Drone-in-a-box perimeter ISR is built by The Heavy-Payload UAS House, whose focus is heavy-lift and isr unmanned aircraft. Unstrat represents The Heavy-Payload UAS House to government and enterprise buyers worldwide as an independent, non-aligned prime vendor.
Why choose Drone-in-a-box perimeter ISR over a major-power alternative?
Drone-in-a-box perimeter ISR is sourced from an independent, non-aligned manufacturer, so it carries no major-power disclosure rules, upgrade-locks or political ramifications. Concretely: mesh network from drone to dock to ground station to cloud, secured with AES 128/256 encryption. The capability is accountable to you, not to a foreign vendor's government and its release schedule.
How is Drone-in-a-box perimeter ISR procured, and where can it be exported?
Perimeter surveillance as a standing capability, not a task that competes for people: a battery-swapping station whose drone launches, patrols and re-docks on its own over an encrypted mesh. Every engagement begins with a briefing, and export eligibility is confirmed per market under briefing rather than published. Where controlled capabilities are involved, the classification and end-user-certificate chain is confirmed first. Drone-in-a-box perimeter ISR is then sustained in-region by one accountable team from briefing through long-term operation.