BRIEF ON DEMAND
Commission a custom drone-sector brief.
You bring the question. We deliver a sourced, footnoted, board-grade brief within five working days. Investor, vendor and procurement briefs in the same editorial format used inside our advisory engagements. One flat price.
Five working day turnaround. Editor walkthrough included. VAT-invoiceable. Capped at six commissions per month to preserve editorial bandwidth.
WHO COMMISSIONS A BRIEF
USE CASE 01
Investor question.
You are evaluating an autonomous-systems position and need an independent read on market structure, named competitive set, and the next twelve months of procurement events. We deliver a ten to fifteen page analytical brief your investment committee can act on.
USE CASE 02
Vendor strategy question.
You are a drone operator, integrator or platform vendor and need a defensible read on a procurement framework, a buyer block, or a competitive position. We map the landscape, name the comparators, and assess the position.
USE CASE 03
Procurement question.
You are scoping a counter-UAS, BVLOS or AAM capability and need a vendor-side market view your procurement team can use to interrogate proposals. We deliver a sourced shortlist with structural assessment per named firm.
SAMPLE TOPICS
Six questions other readers have brought us.
Your question does not need to match any of these. They are illustrative of the format and depth a commissioned brief delivers. The brackets show the part of the question you bring.
COUNTER-UAS
“UK counter-drone vendor map for [your buyer block].”
Spending envelope, named vendor population in three bands, twelve-month procurement calendar, defensibility assessment by position in the stack.
AAM
“European AAM scale-up investability brief.”
Twenty named operators across the UK and EU, scored against a five-factor framework: defensibility, customer concentration, regulatory tailwind, capital efficiency, technology stack maturity.
PROCUREMENT
“UK MoD defence-drone procurement pipeline.”
CADMID-disclosed lines and indicative envelopes for the next four quarters, prime-and-supplier map, capability gaps the published strategy does not name.
REGIONAL
“BVLOS readiness across [your three operating geographies].”
Regulatory pathway by geography, lead operator activity, named partners and integrators, the specific procurement decision implications for your roadmap.
M&A
“Named drone-sector M&A candidates for [your thesis].”
Twelve to fifteen named candidates with structural assessment, cap table posture, valuation context, and an assessment of which are likely to clear inside a twelve-month window.
COMPETITIVE
“Competitive position read against [your top five comparators].”
Named five-firm comparison, structural strengths and weaknesses, the positions you are defending and the positions you are not, with the procurement-side context that explains why.
SAMPLE TABLE OF CONTENTS
The structure every commission follows.
Every brief is delivered in the same editorial structure. Your question fits inside it. The section weights flex with the brief but the format is consistent so your team can navigate the output without re-learning it each time.
COMMISSIONED BRIEF, STANDARD STRUCTURE
- 1. Why this question, why now
- 2. The market envelope, sized
- 3. The named population, banded
- 4. What is actually being bought
- 5. The next twelve months of procurement events
- 6. Where the defensibility lives
- 7. M&A and capital flows
- 8. Regulatory and policy backdrop
- 9. The named-position view
- 10. What we did not finish
- 11. Appendix, additional named firms
- 12. Sources
Ten to fifteen pages. Sourced and footnoted. Delivered as PDF for circulation, plus a thirty minute editor walkthrough.
THE FIVE DAYS
Intake on Monday. Brief in your inbox by Friday.
STEP 01
Question intake.
You submit the question, your decision timeline, and the form of output your team will actually use. We confirm scope within one working day.
STEP 02
Research and triangulation.
Three working days. Public sources, Companies House filings, contract disclosures, named-firm primary monitoring. Every quantitative claim sourced.
STEP 03
Written brief.
Day four. Ten to fifteen pages, the same editorial structure as our subscriber deep dives. Sourced, footnoted, formatted for board circulation.
STEP 04
Editor walkthrough.
Day five. A thirty minute call with the editor to walk through findings, pressure-test assumptions, and answer the questions your team brings.
PRICING
One flat rate. One brief. No retainer overhead.
Includes intake call, full research, written brief, editor walkthrough. VAT-invoiceable. Paid up front via Stripe. Commissions are capped at six per month to preserve editorial bandwidth.
COMMISSION A BRIEF →QUESTIONS
What if my question needs more than five days of research?
On intake we confirm whether your question fits a five day commission. If it does not, we scope a larger engagement through our advisory practice. We will not stretch a commission past its envelope.
Do I keep the IP?
Yes. Commissioned briefs are delivered for your sole use. We retain the right to use the underlying research method and any public-domain framework, but not the brief content.
Can the question be confidential?
Yes. NDA on file for the editorial team. The brief is not referenced anywhere in our public output without your explicit written approval.
What if I want more than one brief?
Three-pack of commissions at £2,700, redeemable within six months. Mention this on the commission form and we will invoice accordingly.
COMMISSION
Six commissions a month. Question-led. Sourced.
If a board, an investment committee, or a procurement team is going to act on a drone-sector question this quarter, the brief should sit underneath the decision. Tell us the question.