Insights · public buyer receipts · Nov 3, 2026

What fire services, police and cities pay for robots and drones: the public receipts

Name: What fire services, police and cities pay for robots and drones: the public receipts (data)
Creator: Whirrwork
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Fire services, police forces and city councils in 12 countries publish what they pay for robots and drones. We collected 67 of those receipts (2017–2026), each linked to the council record, contract award or official notice. The short version: a US police drone program costs about $228k a year (median of 11 contracts), a European firefighting robot about €252k (median of 6 awards), and a US bomb-squad robot $13.3k to $540k. Medians and per-year figures are our arithmetic on those receipts.

67public receipts
12countries
13police drone programs
18firefighting robot buys

Why this page: makers of police and fire robots rarely publish prices, but the public buyers have to. Every card below is one order from a council record (Legistar, CivicWeb, Granicus), an EU contract award (TED), a UK contract notice, an official result notice or local news. Newest receipt Oct 28, 2026. Data: JSON · CSV (CC BY 4.0).

Six things the receipts show

A police drone program costs a US city about $228k a year (median). our arithmetic
11 US council contracts for Drone as First Responder programs average $89,998 (Tybee Island) to $630,000 (Stockton) a year; the median is $227,633. Our arithmetic: contract total ÷ years. Stockton's amendment covers more than drones.
Receipts: Tybee Island · Victoria · Newport · Oceanside · Auburn · Santa Ana · Murrieta · Green Bay · League City · Beaumont · Stockton
Per docked drone, the yearly fee runs $45.1k–$108k. our arithmetic
Where a council record states both the yearly fee and the number of docks (Auburn $45,136, Oceanside $72,917, Beaumont $87,500, Tybee Island $107,998), that is the price of keeping one drone on a roof for a year. Our arithmetic: yearly fee ÷ docks.
Receipts: Auburn · Oceanside · Beaumont · Tybee Island
Year one is cheap on purpose.
7 of 13 DFR contracts start with a free, waived or discounted first year (Oceanside, Tybee Island, Victoria, League City, Beaumont, Auburn, Murrieta). The bill that matters is years two onward: ask for it in writing before the pilot starts.
Receipts: Oceanside · Tybee Island · Victoria · League City · Beaumont · Auburn · Murrieta
In Europe, one firefighting robot costs about €252k. our arithmetic
6 single-robot EU contract awards run €211,980 to €300,404.79 excluding VAT; the median is €251,885 (our arithmetic). LUF Deutschland won 5 of the 8 EUR awards on file. US Thermite RS3 grants are USD 260,000–408,137; the Colossus lists at USD 210,000.
Receipts: Galicia · Peine · Paderborn · Bielefeld · Bilbao · Oberberg
The sensors and arm can cost as much as the robot: +62% to +141%. our arithmetic
In one Homeland Security test, PackBot 525 went from $184k bare to $296k as equipped; Spot went from $135k bare to $325k as equipped; Vision 60 went from $150k bare to $306k as equipped. Our arithmetic on the report's figures. Compare quotes as configured, not base price.
Receipts: PackBot 525 · Spot · Vision 60
US bomb squads pay $13.3k–$540k per robot.
14 US council and board receipts, from throwable robots to full-size EOD vehicles; the detail is on our bomb-squad receipts page. Outside the US we have 9 more awards in 6 countries, below.

Drone as First Responder programs 13 receipts

Docked drones that launch from a roof when a 911 call comes in and fly ahead of the patrol car.

US police drone programs: average cost a year

Average cost a year of each US Drone as First Responder contract on file: the contract total divided by its years (our arithmetic; Green Bay is published as a yearly figure). Dashed line = median, $227,633. Filled = approval seen or reported; hollow and “≤” = a staff report or agenda item, not a final price. Bundles differ (drones, docks, radar, software, training) and several include a free first year, so read each card. Tap a row for its receipt.

City of Green Bay

Wisconsin · Oct 2026

Approved (news report)

$270,000–$291,000 · per year

Flock Safety

five-year USD 1.3M contract approved (NBC26); the dataset row is the yearly cost as reported, USD 270,000–291,000

Receipt: nbc26.com · the job

City of Oceanside

California · Sep 16, 2026

Approved

$682,556 · per 5-year contract

Axon / Skydio

≈ $136,511 a year on average ($682,556 ÷ 5 years, our arithmetic)
≈ $72,917 per docked drone a year ($145,833 a year ÷ 2 docks, our arithmetic)

council file 26-1635 passed 16 Sep 2026; two Skydio DFR drones; year one USD 99,224, then USD 145,833 a year (training, service, hardware)

Receipt: oceanside.legistar.com · the job

City of Tybee Island

Georgia · Aug 27, 2026

Approved

$539,990 · per 6-year agreement (year one free)

Motorola / BRINC

≈ $89,998 a year on average ($539,990 ÷ 6 years, our arithmetic; includes a free or discounted first year)
$107,998 per docked drone a year (one dock, yearly fee as stated)

council packet filed as approved 27 Aug 2026: one docked BRINC Responder drone via Sourcewell; year one free, then USD 107,998 a year for five years incl. training

Receipt: savannahagenda.com · the job

City of Newport

Rhode Island · Jul 22, 2026

Approved (news report)

$375,000 · per 3-year contract

Flock Safety

≈ $125,000 a year on average ($375,000 ÷ 3 years, our arithmetic)

approved 22 Jul 2026 (Newport This Week): USD 275,000 donated by a private resident, about USD 100,000 from the city budget

Receipt: newportthisweek.com · the job

City of Victoria

Texas · Jul 21, 2026

Staff report

$449,991 · per 4-year contract

Motorola / BRINC

≈ $112,498 a year on average ($449,991 ÷ 4 years, our arithmetic; includes a free or discounted first year)

agenda memo, 4-year not-to-exceed: 2 BRINC Responder station drones + 1 Lemur 2 indoor drone; first year free, then USD 149,997 a year; launchpad install ~USD 10,000 extra (filed under police tactical robots in our job list)

Receipt: victoriatx.civicweb.net · the job

City of League City

Texas · Jul 14, 2026

Approved

$1,759,980 · per 6-year contract

Motorola Solutions

≈ $293,330 a year on average ($1,759,980 ÷ 6 years, our arithmetic; includes a free or discounted first year)

council file 26-0252 approved 14 Jul 2026; Texas DIR contract; first year’s subscription waived; termination option

Receipt: leaguecity.legistar.com · the job

City of Beaumont

California · Apr 29, 2026

Approved (news report)

$900,000 · per 3-year contract

Flock Safety

≈ $300,000 a year on average ($900,000 ÷ 3 years, our arithmetic)
≈ $87,500 per docked drone a year ($350,000 a year ÷ 4 docks, our arithmetic)

approved by the council (Record Gazette): four drone systems with docks, radar, software, training, maintenance; year one USD 200,000 with the radar fee waived, then USD 350,000 a year

Receipt: recordgazette.net · the job

City of Auburn

Alabama · Apr 21, 2026

Approved (news report)

$992,501 · per 6-year contract

Axon / Skydio

≈ $165,417 a year on average ($992,501 ÷ 6 years, our arithmetic)
≈ $45,136 per docked drone a year ($180,543 a year ÷ 4 docks, our arithmetic)

approved 21 Apr 2026 (The Observer, from the meeting packet): four Skydio drones on four docks; prorated ~USD 89,783 in year one, then USD 180,543 a year

Receipt: opelikaobserver.com · the job

City of Stockton

California · Mar 31, 2026

Approved (news report)

$3,150,000 · per 5-year contract amendment

Flock Safety

≈ $630,000 a year on average ($3,150,000 ÷ 5 years, our arithmetic)

council voted 7-0 on 31 Mar 2026 (Stocktonia) to amend its Flock contract, adding DFR and extending it to Apr 2031; the amendment adds USD 3.15M (wider scope than drones alone)

Receipt: stocktonia.org · the job

Metropolitan Police for the NPCC (UK national DFR programme)

United Kingdom · Mar 27, 2026

Contract awarded

£363,353.54 · per contract

Colena

≈ £181,677 a year on average (£363,353.54 ÷ 2 years, our arithmetic)

Contracts Finder award 27 Mar 2026: drone-and-dock bundles, 1 Apr 2026 to 31 Mar 2028; number of units not stated

Receipt: contractsfinder.service.gov.uk · the job

City of Santa Ana

California · Feb 3, 2026

Staff report

$682,900 · per 3-year contract

Axon / Skydio

≈ $227,633 a year on average ($682,900 ÷ 3 years, our arithmetic)

staff report for council item 15 on 3 Feb 2026, not to exceed: 3 Skydio X10 DFR bundles + 2 Skydio R10 patrol drones and licences; FY split USD 249,999 / 220,519 / 212,382; state SLESA grant

Receipt: publicdocs.santa-ana.org · the job

West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner

England · Dec 24, 2025

Contract awarded

£59,306 · per pilot contract

iRed

Find a Tender notice: drones in a box for a 3-month DFR pilot at Premier League football matches, signed 24 Dec 2025 (excl. VAT; GBP 71,167.44 incl. VAT)

Receipt: find-tender.service.gov.uk · the job

City of Murrieta

California · Oct 7, 2025

On the agenda

$750,000 · per 3-year contract

Flock Safety

≈ $250,000 a year on average ($750,000 ÷ 3 years, our arithmetic)

third amendment to the Flock agreement on the 7 Oct 2025 agenda (staff recommendation): USD 150,000 in year one, USD 300,000 in years two and three, plus up to USD 75,000 contingency

Receipt: murrieta.legistar.com · the job

Firefighting robots 18 receipts

Remote-controlled tracked vehicles with a water cannon or a big fan, for tunnels, car parks, warehouses and chemical fires.

Firefighting robots in Europe: price per robot

Euros per robot, excluding VAT, one row per receipt (Berlin's two-robot order divided by two, our arithmetic). Dashed line = median of the 6 single-robot EU awards, €251,885. Hollow = a donation's stated value; Luxembourg's figure is a framework value, not a unit price. Sweden, Poland, the UK, China and the US are in their own currencies below; we don't convert.

Landkreis Peine fire service

Germany · Oct 28, 2026

Contract awarded

€239,294 · per unit

LUF firefighting support vehicle · LUF Deutschland

TED 750379-2026, concluded 28 Oct 2026 (district estimate EUR 238,164); excl. VAT

Six things the receipts show

A police drone program costs a US city about $228k a year (median). our arithmetic

Per docked drone, the yearly fee runs $45.1k–$108k. our arithmetic

Year one is cheap on purpose.

In Europe, one firefighting robot costs about €252k. our arithmetic

The sensors and arm can cost as much as the robot: +62% to +141%. our arithmetic

US bomb squads pay $13.3k–$540k per robot.

🚁 Drone as First Responder programs 13 receipts

US police drone programs: average cost a year

🚒 Firefighting robots 18 receipts

Firefighting robots in Europe: price per robot

💣 Bomb-disposal robots outside the US 9 receipts

☣️ What the payloads cost: one federal test 3 receipts

🛟 Search, rescue and the rest 10 receipts

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Drone as First Responder programs 13 receipts

Firefighting robots 18 receipts

Bomb-disposal robots outside the US 9 receipts

What the payloads cost: one federal test 3 receipts

Search, rescue and the rest 10 receipts