How to plan a drone detection site assessment.

1. Start with the decisions your team needs to make.

Describe the concern in operational terms: activity near a sensitive utility asset, unfamiliar aircraft around a venue, or nearby drone activity before a public-safety crew launches. This helps focus the assessment on useful information and a workable response.

Prepare a general site outline and identify the areas that matter most. Include buildings, accessible mounting areas, and known drone operations. Bring your security lead and the person responsible for the site’s network or facilities when possible.

For the initial request, your site type and priorities are enough to begin. Detailed layouts and operating procedures can be discussed with the team during the assessment.

2. Review sensor placement, power, and connectivity.

Gargoyle reviews the footprint, mounting access, and coverage priorities before recommending sensor count and placement. Confirm practical access to proposed locations, how equipment will be powered, and who can approve installation.

Backhaul can use cellular connectivity or the site network, depending on the facility. Ask what access and network approvals the proposed plan needs, and how equipment will be reached for maintenance.

• Which locations can the installation team access?
• What power is available at those locations?
• Who approves site network access or cellular connectivity?
• What site-specific checks will confirm the proposed placement?

Review Gargoyle’s installation approach before your assessment.

3. Decide who receives an alert—and what happens next.

A notification needs an owner. Identify the primary contact, the backup contact, and the escalation path for each site or shift. Decide how your team will review a detection alongside its own operations and observations.

With 24/7 managed monitoring, Gargoyle reviews detections and notifies the contacts agreed in your plan. Your security or public-safety team decides how to respond. Confirm notification channels and expected alert content before monitoring begins.

Use a practical scenario in the discussion: an event occurs after hours, the first contact is unavailable, and a supervisor needs the record. Establish the handoff before that situation becomes real.

4. Agree how records fit your existing workflow.

Sentinel supports recorded detections, alerts, and exportable incident reports. Confirm hosting, retention, access, and export requirements with your team before deployment.

Discuss who needs access to the console, who can export a report, and where the event record should go in your incident process. Monthly activity reporting is included when agreed in the monitoring scope.

If your team relies on a VMS, CAD, or another security platform, describe that workflow. Deeper platform connectors are on the roadmap; confirm the available workflow for your deployment.

5. Separate current capabilities from future plans.

G1 is available now and receives cooperative Remote ID broadcasts. Nonbroadcasting drones are invisible to G1. Review the Remote ID detection guide so the team shares the same expectations.

G2 is coming soon, with planned RF and acoustic sensing alongside Remote ID. Discuss its planned capabilities and availability separately from a G1 deployment.

The assessment leads to a proposed sensor count and placement, monitoring scope, and a quote. Review those together with installation requirements, contact responsibilities, and any open questions before proceeding.