Maximum Value for the American Taxpayer
Aedes is a coordination layer, not a defense prime. We do not mark up hardware 10x. We do not bill $400 for a bolt. Our pricing formula is public, our margin is capped at 5%, and every dollar above that goes back to the builders who earned it.
Aedes never takes more than 5% of any transaction. This is a binding operational commitment.
The Pricing Formula
One formula. Published. Auditable. No exceptions.
Unit Price = Materials + Builder Labor + QA + 5% Platform FeeMaterials
Every physical component — frame, motors, electronics, props, fasteners. Plus a 10% buffer for domestic procurement and shipping.
Builder Labor
Certified builder time at a minimum floor of $126.44/hr. Specialization and performance command above-floor rates. Builders are paid for verified, QA-accepted output only.
QA Fee
Regional QA hub inspection, flight testing, certification, and documentation. Every unit that ships has a traceable quality record.
Aedes Platform Fee
Platform operations, design package maintenance, compliance program, insurance, and R&D. Capped at 5%. Never more. Any surplus above documented operating costs goes back to the network.
Unit Economics — Reference Systems
Actual cost breakdowns for the Aedes MD and HX-1 at standard production volume.
Volume Pricing
Fixed costs amortize across volume. Larger orders mean lower per-unit prices — and 100% of the discount passes through to the government. Aedes's 5% cap is maintained at every volume tier.
Prices are reference estimates based on current BOM costs and builder rates. Final pricing confirmed at contract execution.
How Builders Get Paid
Pay is tied to verified output. No hourly clock. No retainer. You get paid for drones that pass QA — nothing else.
Minimum guaranteed labor rate, calculated against standard build hours per system. Actual earnings scale with output.
Payment triggered only on QA Hub acceptance. Failed units are not compensated. Quality is the only metric that matters.
Top-tier builders receive above-floor rates, priority job allocation, and access to higher-value production runs.
Builder floor rate: $126.44/hr. BOM and QA costs updated April 2026.
Transparency Commitments
We publish what matters. These are not aspirational — they are operational commitments.
The Pricing Formula
Always published here. Always the same formula. No exceptions, no overrides.
Current BOM Costs
Component costs updated quarterly as market prices change. You always know what things actually cost.
Builder Floor Rate
Minimum $30/hr, published. Builders are never underpaid to make our margins look better.
QA Fee Schedule
Fixed rates by system type, published. No variable fees, no hidden charges.
Aedes Operating Expenses
Annual report with line-item summary. See exactly what the 5% covers.
Taxpayer Savings Methodology
Published comparison methodology vs. prime contractor pricing. Every number is verifiable.
Taxpayer Savings Counter
Running total of cumulative savings vs. prime contractor comparable pricing.
The Taxpayer Promise
When the federal government buys through Aedes, they are buying at cost-plus-5%. Not cost-plus-300%. Not cost-plus-1,000%.
For every $1B spent on Aedes production, the taxpayer receives what would cost $10B–$100B from a traditional defense prime — and the money goes to American workers in every state, not to a handful of shareholders on the Fortune 500.
This is not an aspiration. It is a structural feature of how Aedes is built.