RTK Drone for corporate purchase that is NDAA compliant

[eodjosh]

All,

I am in search of an NDAA-compliant aerial platform under $18k that meets the following criteria:

- RTK enabled
- Thermal Imaging
- ~30min battery life
- >20mp normal camera

I essentially need a Mavic 3T that isn't built in China due to some ridiculous state legislation that is causing me to waste taxpayer money on a less-capable platform.
Any idea?

 

[phph001]

A DIY job would not cost anything like $18k. As long as you use official Arduino microprocessor boards (made in Italy), you can find a cheap thermal imager

https://maker.pro/arduino/projects/diy-a-thermal-imaging-monitor

an RTK board

SparkFun GPS-RTK2 Board - ZED-F9P (Qwiic) - GPS-15136 - SparkFun Electronics

The SparkFun GPS-RTK2 is a powerful breakout for the ZED-F9P module. The ZED-F9P is a top-of-the-line module for GNSS & GPS solutions with 10mm accuracy!

www.sparkfun.com

and your choice of digital camera. Put them into a scratch-built drone with as much battery as you like and away you go.The only expensive bit will be a certified electronics engineer who can do a bit of programming and put it together. Why don't you go into business with the engineer and get your share of taxpayer money? If I were decades younger I'd do it myself.

 

[Brutalwarpig]

All,

I am in search of an NDAA-compliant aerial platform under $18k that meets the following criteria:

- RTK enabled
- Thermal Imaging
- ~30min battery life
- >20mp normal camera

I essentially need a Mavic 3T that isn't built in China due to some ridiculous state legislation that is causing me to waste taxpayer money on a less-capable platform.
Any idea?

I am guessing that you do not want to build your own compliant drone. That said, the Teledyne Flir SIRAS would probably do the trick for about $10k.