Options to Counter Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems
Report
CBO describes current methods to detect and counter small unmanned aircraft systems and estimates it would cost about $74 million to outfit a typical military installation with a layered defense and at least $5 million a year to support it.
The use of small unmanned aircraft systems (sUASs), often called drones, has proliferated since the war in Ukraine began in 2022. Some have been observed over military installations and other important sites in the United States. The Congressional Budget Office examines systems that can be used to counter the threats posed by sUASs and estimates the costs of defending military installations. CBO finds the following:
A wide range of counter-sUAS systems is available. Detection technologies include radar, radio frequency signal detection, and acoustic detection. sUASs can be defeated by entangling them, impeding communications, or physically destroying them with a projectile or directed energy.
Layered defenses provide the most comprehensive defense. sUASs are challenging to defend against, and no single system would provide full protection. In CBO's assessment, a layered set of multiple detection and defeat systems would offset individual systems' limitations and maximize protection.
Defenses must evolve to counter the rapidly changing threats. To keep pace with the evolving threat, deployed systems will need continuous software and hardware improvements and adaptations, and the Department of Defense will need to develop new systems as sUASs evolve.
Counter-sUAS systems are costly. CBO estimates that it would cost about $74 million to equip one representative installation with a layered defense and $5 million a year to support it. Those estimates include the cost to procure equipment to detect and engage multiple sUASs simultaneously as well as the cost to install supporting infrastructure. Costs would be higher if additional military personnel were needed to operate the systems or new systems were purchased every several years.
Costs would scale linearly. Because each site is independent and the threat is local, the costs to protect a site depend only on the equipment selected to defend it. Protecting 100 sites would cost about $7.4 billion and $500 million a year to operate, CBO estimates.
On July 14, 2026, CBO reposted this report with a correction. The correction is listed at the end of the report. The file of data underlying tables was also reposted.
