The drone is Rust’s remote control scout. You fly it from a Computer Station to look over a neighbour’s walls, watch a raid from above, check a monument before you run in, and since October 2025 even drop a stack of meds, ammo or a live grenade wherever you want it.
This drone Rust guide covers the craft cost and blueprint, how to set one up and connect it, the controls, the storage slot, how much it takes to shoot one down, what turrets and SAM sites do to it, and the tips that keep a 200 fragment drone alive.
What Is the Drone in Rust?
The drone is a small quadcopter you deploy like any other item and then pilot remotely. Facepunch added it in the March 2023 Eye in the Sky update alongside PTZ cameras and RF-detonated C4. You never fly it from your own character: you sit at a Computer Station, connect to the drone by its ID and see through its camera.
It is a scouting tool first. A drone can see over walls, into compounds and across monuments without putting your body at risk. The trade-off is that it is fragile: it has 100 HP, takes damage when it bumps into things, and anyone can walk up and pick it up when it is sitting on the ground.
Do not confuse it with the delivery drones you see at Outpost and Bandit Camp. Those belong to the Drone Marketplace, carry orders from player vending machines to the safe zone, and cannot be crafted or flown by players.
Rust Drone Stats
| Stat | Drone |
|---|---|
| Craft cost | 200 Metal Fragments, 1 CCTV Camera |
| Workbench | Level 2 |
| Craft time | 30 seconds at Workbench 2, 15 seconds at Workbench 3 |
| Blueprint | 60 scrap to research, 60 scrap node on the Workbench 2 tech tree |
| Health | 100 HP, damaged by impacts |
| Control range | About 500 m from the Computer Station by default (servers can change it) |
| Controlled from | Computer Station |
| Storage | 1 slot, holds one stack of any item, dropped with left click |
| Camera view | 80 degrees (widened from 60 in October 2025) |
| Repair | Hammer, while it is deployed |
| Recycle | 120 Metal Fragments, 60% chance of 1 CCTV Camera (80 fragments and a 40% chance at a safe zone) |
| Despawn | 40 minutes on the ground as an item |
| Stack size | 1 |
| Shortname / Item ID | drone / 1588492232 |
Every ID is in our full Rust item IDs list.
How to Craft a Drone in Rust
- Get a Workbench 2. The drone is a Workbench Level 2 item, so place a Workbench 2 first.
- Get the blueprint. Put a drone in a research table with 60 scrap, or unlock the drone node on the Workbench 2 branch of the tech tree for 60 scrap.
- Find a CCTV Camera. CCTV Cameras cannot be crafted. They come from locked crates, Bradley and heli crates, and elite and military crates. Our CCTV codes guide lists where they drop.
- Craft it. Add 200 metal fragments and the drone takes 30 seconds, or 15 seconds near a Workbench 3.
The fragments are cheap. The camera is the real cost, and the same camera is also what you would spend on a PTZ camera, so decide early whether you want eyes on your base or eyes in the sky.
How to Use a Drone in Rust
- Place the drone. Deploy it like any other item, ideally outside your walls or on a roof with open sky above, so it can take off without hitting anything.
- Set its ID. Look at the drone, hold E and pick Set ID, then type a name like DRONE1. Only the player who placed it can change the ID.
- Add it to a Computer Station. Sit at the station, type the same ID into the device field and add it. It appears in your saved list next to your cameras.
- Connect and fly. Click the drone in the list to take control. You see through its camera until you leave.
Your body stays sitting at the station while you fly, so put the station somewhere safe inside your base. If someone kills you at the station, you lose control of the drone too.
Rust Drone Controls
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
| W, A, S, D | Fly forward, back and strafe left or right |
| Mouse | Turn and point the camera |
| Shift | Climb |
| Ctrl | Descend |
| Left mouse button | Drop whatever is in the storage slot |
| Esc / leave the station | Stop piloting and return to the station screen |
The signal gets weaker the further you fly from the station. On a default server you can go about 500 m before you lose control. Community servers can raise or lower this with the drone.maxcontrolrange setting, so a drone that dies at 250 m on one server may fly much further on another.
The Drone Storage Slot
The October 2025 update gave the drone a single storage slot. Put one stack of anything in it before you take off, fly to the spot and press left click to drop it. That turns the drone from a pure scout into a small delivery tool.
- Supplies. Drop medical syringes, a large medkit or a stack of ammo to a teammate pinned down at a monument.
- Explosives. Throwable explosives dropped from a drone are armed and go off just like they would if you threw them. An F1 grenade, a beancan or a molotov dropped on a roof camper is a real threat.
- Signals. A supply signal dropped from a drone pops smoke where it lands.
It is one stack, not a cargo hold, and the drone is slow and loud. Expect it to be shot at the moment it hovers over someone.
How to Shoot Down a Drone in Rust
A drone has only 100 HP. Any gun takes it down fast:
| Weapon | Hits to destroy a drone |
|---|---|
| Assault Rifle, Bolt Action, M39, M249 (5.56) | 2 bullets |
| LR-300, Semi-Automatic Rifle (5.56) | 3 bullets |
| Thompson, MP5, Semi-Auto Pistol (pistol ammo) | 3 bullets |
| Python Revolver | 2 bullets |
| Shotgun (buckshot) | 1 shell |
| Hunting bow (wooden arrow) | 2 arrows |
| F1 grenade, any rocket, C4 | 1 |
| Any melee tool | 1 hit |
You do not always have to do it yourself. Since the October 2025 update, auto turrets fire on drones from players who are not authorized on the turret, and SAM sites target player drones too. The 2026 Breach and Clear update made SAM missiles faster with a bigger blast against drones, so a SAM on your roof is now a reliable drone counter. Marketplace delivery drones are never targeted.
What Are Drones Used For in Rust?
- Scout a raid target. Fly over a base to count doors, spot turrets and SAMs, and look for open windows before you craft explosives.
- Check who is online. Movement around a compound, lights and open doors tell you whether a group is home.
- Watch a raid. Hover high over your own raid, or one someone else is doing, to see defenders on roofs and in towers.
- Check monuments. Look into a monument before you commit to the run, the same way you would use monument CCTV codes.
- Resupply. Drop meds or ammo to a teammate who cannot get out.
- Harass. Drop a live grenade on a roof camper or on a player hiding behind a rock.
Rust Drone Tips
- Fly high and keep moving. Two rifle bullets kill it. Height and speed are its only armor.
- Avoid trees, wires and roofs. Impacts damage the drone, so a clumsy landing can cost you half its health.
- Watch for turrets and SAMs. A base with a SAM site will shoot you down. Check the roof before you hover over it.
- Land it somewhere safe. A drone on the ground can be picked up by anyone. Bring it home before you log off.
- Repair between flights. Hit it with a hammer to top up its health.
- Stay in range. Past about 500 m the signal drops and you lose control.
- Protect the station. Your body is sitting at the Computer Station the whole time. Fly from inside your base, not from a station in the open.
- Remember the wipe. Drones, cameras and the base you keep them in all reset. Check when the next force wipe is.
Rust Drone FAQ
How do you craft a drone in Rust?
A drone costs 200 metal fragments and 1 CCTV Camera at a Workbench 2. The craft takes 30 seconds, or 15 seconds at a Workbench 3. The CCTV Camera is loot only.
How much scrap is the drone blueprint in Rust?
Researching a drone costs 60 scrap at a research table. The drone node on the Workbench 2 tech tree also costs 60 scrap.
How do you fly a drone in Rust?
Place the drone, hold E on it and pick Set ID to name it, then sit at a Computer Station, type the same ID and click it in the list. Fly with W, A, S and D, climb with Shift, descend with Ctrl and turn with the mouse.
What is the range of a drone in Rust?
On a default server you can fly a drone about 500 m from the Computer Station before the signal drops. Server owners can change this with the drone.maxcontrolrange setting.
Can drones carry items in Rust?
Yes. Since the October 2025 update a drone has one storage slot that holds a single stack of any item. Press left click while flying to drop it. Throwable explosives dropped this way are armed and explode as normal.
How much health does a drone have in Rust?
A drone has 100 HP. Two assault rifle bullets, one F1 grenade, one rocket or one melee hit destroys it, and it also takes damage from crashing into things.
Do auto turrets and SAM sites shoot drones in Rust?
Yes. Since October 2025 auto turrets fire on drones of players who are not authorized on them, and SAM sites target player drones. Marketplace delivery drones at Outpost and Bandit Camp are never targeted.
What do you get from recycling a drone?
A monument recycler returns 120 metal fragments and has a 60% chance to give the CCTV Camera back. A safe zone recycler returns 80 fragments and a 40% chance of the camera.
What is the drone item ID in Rust?
The drone uses the shortname drone and the item ID 1588492232.
Sources and Further Reading
- Original drone release: Facepunch, Eye in the Sky
- Storage slot, turret and SAM targeting, wider camera: Facepunch, Meta Shift
- Recipe, repair and despawn: Facepunch Wiki, Drone
- Setup walkthrough: Rustafied, It’s RF Time
- Craft time, recycle yield, damage per weapon and despawn: rustlabs item data