C‑DRONE
Top-down orthophoto-style view of farmland parcels captured by drone

🗺️ SURVEYING & PHOTOGRAMMETRY · CHERBOURG-EN-COTENTIN (50) · €800–3,000 PER DAY

Drone surveying & photogrammetry in Cherbourg-en-Cotentin

Drone photogrammetry turns a few hundred aerial photos into precision survey products: georeferenced orthophotography at 1–3 cm/pixel, digital surface and terrain models, 3D point clouds, contour lines, stockpile and earthworks volume calculations. With an RTK/PPK drone and ground control points measured by centimetre-grade GNSS, accuracy reaches 2 to 5 cm both horizontally and vertically — sufficient for most development studies, at a fraction of the cost of an exhaustive ground survey.

We cover from 1 to several hundred hectares per day depending on the required resolution, including hard-to-access sites: working quarries, landfills, riverbanks, industrial wasteland. Deliverables come in your coordinate system (Lambert 93 / RGF93, conic conformal projections) and standard formats (GeoTIFF, LAS/LAZ, DXF, GIS formats). Chartered surveyors, civil engineering offices, quarry operators and local authorities are regular clients.

Free quote — surveying & photogrammetry in Cherbourg-en-Cotentin

Rates

€800–3,000 per day — the range observed on the 2026 French market, including regulatory preparation, flight and delivery. The exact quote depends on the site, the deliverable and the airspace context in Cherbourg-en-Cotentin.

Common use cases

The local context in Cherbourg-en-Cotentin

Cherbourg-en-Cotentin is dominated by sensitive zones: the arsenal and Naval Group shipyards, where France's nuclear submarines are built, sit under a strict no-fly zone, and the La Hague reprocessing plant, twenty kilometres west, is protected by a reinforced prohibited area. Add Cherbourg-Maupertus airport to the east and the daily cross-Channel ferry terminal.

Outside those areas, the Cotentin offers fine missions: the Cité de la Mer and the Art Deco transatlantic terminal, booming offshore wind and marine energy (the port enlarged for heavy loads), inspection of the great harbour's breakwaters — a unique 19th-century structure — and the La Hague landscapes for tourism.

Applicable regulations

Survey flights mostly take place outside built-up areas, in open category A2 or A3 (photogrammetry drones weigh 900 g to 6 kg) flying automated grid patterns below the regulatory 120 m. Long corridors or populated sites fall under the specific category (STS-01/STS-02, or an operational authorisation for BVLOS on long corridors). The operator is registered on AlphaTango and checks regulated zones on Géoportail: quarries and industrial estates are often near airfields or under military low-altitude training routes (RTBA), requiring protocols or time slots. Legally binding georeferencing (enforceable boundary plans) remains the exclusive remit of chartered surveyors, with whom we work as subcontractors.

Frequently asked questions

What accuracy can a drone survey guarantee?

With an RTK drone and ground control points, we guarantee 2 to 5 cm XYZ accuracy, verified against independent checkpoints whose residuals are documented in the processing report.

Does a drone survey replace a chartered surveyor?

No for legally binding documents (boundary demarcation, land division): that is the chartered surveyor's legal monopoly. Yes for technical studies: our deliverables feed directly into civil works design, volume calculations and environmental studies.

Does vegetation interfere with photogrammetric surveys?

Yes: photogrammetry measures the visible surface, so the canopy rather than the ground beneath. For wooded areas, we offer drone LiDAR, which penetrates vegetation and reconstructs the bare terrain.

Can this service be flown anywhere in Cherbourg-en-Cotentin?

Almost: Zone interdite de l'arsenal et des chantiers Naval Group; Zone prohibée renforcée de l'usine de La Hague à l'ouest; Aéroport de Cherbourg-Maupertus. Depending on the exact location, the pilot picks the right framework (open or specific category) and files the required declarations — included in the quote.

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