DiaB systems launch on a schedule or in response to an alarm, fly a mission of typically 20–45 minutes, and return to recharge. They excel at rapid alarm response and scheduled inspection. For persistent watch they are limited by hover endurance and weather: continuous coverage of one point needs docks and cannot exceed the site's flyable fraction. In our simulation, naive staggered scheduling resynchronized the fleet after weather holds; relief scheduling fixed it.
Where DiaB fits
Use DiaB where fast eyes-on matters more than persistent watch: alarm verification, scheduled inspections of linear assets, incident documentation. Judge it on launch-to-scene latency and image quality on arrival. For persistent watch, compare it against alternatives on time on watch (see alternatives).
Common pitfalls
Fleet sizing on brochure flight time rather than on-station time; ignoring local weather statistics; and schedulers that relaunch aircraft together after holds.