Detection system integration
Connecting detection sensors to command and control and to the security systems a site already operates, so an alert reaches someone able to act on it.
Integration is the largest single slice of services revenue in this segment and the one most often left until the equipment has already arrived.
Our work here is specification and planning. Commissioning and installation are carried out by the appointed integrator, and the specification defines what that integrator is held to.
Why this is live now
- Integration and sustainment are estimated at 20% of counter-UAS market revenue in 2026, rising to around 28% by 2036, growing faster than the hardware it wraps.
- Federal contracting reflects the same shift, including an $87M award to Anduril for a command-and-control platform whose purpose is tying sensors and effectors together.
- Multi-sensor architectures combining detection with analytics are becoming the norm, which makes the integration layer the part most likely to be underspecified.
- Equipment bought quickly under grant timelines frequently arrives without an integration plan attached.
Who this is for
- Facility and venue operators with existing security operations centres
- Security systems integrators adding a detection capability
- Agencies combining sensors from more than one supplier
- Operators inheriting equipment bought under a grant
What we would do
The advisory and analytical work we provide in this area.
- Reviewing how detection alerts would reach and be acted on by existing operations
- Specifying the integration layer as part of a procurement rather than after it
- Identifying where sensors from different suppliers will and will not work together
- Planning for sustainment, because detection performance degrades quietly
FAQ
▸Do you install and commission systems?
We provide the specification and planning around integration, and define what an installer or prime has to be held to. Hands-on commissioning is carried out by the appointed integrator.
▸Why is integration treated as an afterthought so often?
Because procurement tends to be organised around the sensor, which is the visible, comparable, quotable item. The part that determines whether an alert reaches a person who can act is the part with no line in the budget.
▸What does sustainment mean in practice?
Detection systems lose effectiveness without anyone noticing, as the aircraft they are meant to detect change and as thresholds drift. Sustainment is the ongoing work of confirming the system still does what it was bought to do, and it is a named cost category in the market forecasts for good reason.