Field Kit Review: Building an All‑Weather UAV Preservation & Evidence Capture Kit (2026)

Field Kit Review: Building an All‑Weather UAV Preservation & Evidence Capture Kit (2026)

Hook: If your flights might be inspected, the difference between accepted evidence and an unresolved dispute is often a single missing checksum or corrupted file. This kit prevents that.

Why preservation matters now

Investigations and regulatory compliance now routinely require signed, tamper-evident records. Our field guide draws on hands-on practice and published guidance about preservation and on-site capture. A practical field-kit review you should read is at field kit review: building a portable preservation lab, which matches many of our recommendations.

Essential components

• Rugged storage: SSDs with tamper-evident seals and hardware encryption.
• On-device signing: Module or HSM capable of signing manifests at capture.
• Chain-of-custody forms: Printed and digital templates that travel with every transfer.
• Field repair spares: Modular components for the sensors and flight controllers — repairability guidance appears in design & repairability.
• Power & continuity: Compact solar backup kit and a small UPS for comms hubs (see field power guides at scoter.shop and the power pack roundup at cooler.top).

Workflow: capture to court-ready deliverable

1. Pre-flight: Manifest template filled with firmware, sensor serials and operator ID.
2. On-capture: On-device checksums, lightweight classification and signed manifest generation.
3. Transport: Buffered uploads to tamper-evident archive; printed transfer forms for physical handovers.
4. Post-flight: Generate client derivatives with embedded provenance and store raw assets in an immutable store for the mandated window.

Practical tips

• Use an HSM or hardware signing module to avoid software-only attestations.
• Train field teams for rapid triage — a poor flight should be quarantined and re-flown with clear notes.
• Maintain a small kit of repairable parts based on modularity recommendations in design & repairability.

Evidence preservation in disputes

When footage is contested, provenance and signed manifests shorten resolution times dramatically. For sellers and lessors, a seller’s guide to on‑site document and evidence preservation is a useful read: seller’s guide to on-site document and evidence preservation.

Kit checklist (downloadable)

• 2x encrypted SSDs (hot-swappable)
• 1x HSM signing module
• Emissivity calibration plates (for thermal)
• Foldable solar panel + MPPT controller
• Spare sensor modules and controller boards

Closing

An evidence-grade field kit is an insurance policy: it costs less than a prolonged dispute. Build vintage-proof workflows, standardise manifests and prioritise repairability — these investments pay off when you need to prove what actually happened in the air.

Further reading that informed this kit:

• Field kit preservation review
• Design & repairability for hardware
• Compact solar backup kits
• Roundup: portable power packs
• On-site document preservation guide