SCP-514 — SCP-514 | Cost Breakdown

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SCP-514 Euclid ~ medium confidence

SCP-514

Expected annual

$7.5M

One-time setup

$23.3M

Annual recurring

$7.4M

Personnel

Estimated first-year setup and procurement costs are approximately $23.3M driven by R&D/procurement of control devices, ISR and aircraft purchases, and facility upgrades; ongoing annual operations are roughly $7.37M driven by MTF staffing, ISR and rapid-response operations, secure comms, and cover-up/legal budgets.

🏗️ One-Time Capital Costs Total: $23.3M

Equipment $9.5M

[#5, #7] Development/procurement of the avian-manipulation device (█████████) and long-range ISR asset acquisition (drones/radars/cameras).

Vehicles And Aircraft $6.2M

[#9] Acquisition/long-term lease/purchase of a medium-lift helicopter and ground trucks for rapid response.

Facilities $4.5M

[#14, #11, #15] Land/site acquisition and construction, AWRF upgrades/modifications, and utilities/install costs for remote containment and testing ranges.

Initial Research And Lab Setup $950K

[#18] Initial multidisciplinary research program setup (labs, instruments, sequencing/materials analysis) for mechanism studies.

Destructive Testing Initial $875K

[#13] Initial large-scale destructive testing campaign (replacement cost of weapons/ordnance used to characterize SCP-514).

Non Sentient Herding Rd $500K

[#26] R&D into robotic decoys/drones and automated lures as non-sentient herding alternatives.

Initial Training Program $275K

[#3] One-off specialized training program (avian behavior, non-kinetic containment, covert diplomacy) curriculum development and initial cohort certification.

Legal And Coverup Initial $250K

[#21] Initial crisis response budget for legal/cover-up payments and emergency indemnities for exposures.

Secure Communications $225K

[#10] Initial secure communications/mobile command kit (encrypted radios, satellite phones, datalinks).

Capture Equipment $90K

[#17] Procurement of non-kinetic capture/handling gear (nets, capture cages, live traps, remote lures).

🔄 Annual Recurring Costs Total: $7.4M/yr

Staff Wages $1.9M/yr

[#1] MTF Lambda-4 operational salaries, benefits, hazard pay and rotations (16 personnel × ~$120k all-in).

Vehicle And Aircraft Operations $550K/yr

[#9] Helicopter and ground vehicle operations, fuel, maintenance, and lease costs.

Covert Strike Operations $550K/yr

[#23] Budget for covert operations to neutralize threats before they reach SCP-514's zone (1–4 ops/yr assumed).

Logistics And Transport $538K/yr

[#2, #24] Staffing rotations, overtime, deployment travel (flights, per-diem) plus logistics/shipping/clandestine transport for device and parts.

Cover Story And Legal $500K/yr

[#21] Ongoing cover operations, liaison, payments to local authorities/landowners and legal/indemnity budgets to maintain secrecy.

Contingency Reserve Fund $500K/yr

[#25] Annual reserve allocation/insurance to maintain a contingency fund for catastrophic relocation, cleanup or large replacements.

Facilities Maintenance $448K/yr

[#12, #15] AWRF operational support and remote site utilities/fuel/maintenance costs.

Research And Monitoring $425K/yr

[#18] Ongoing multidisciplinary research, lab consumables and monitoring programs into SCP-514's mechanism.

Long Range Isr Operations $400K/yr

[#7] Operations, maintenance and support for ISR drones, radars, and UAV support systems.

Destructive Testing Recurring $300K/yr

[#13] Ongoing replacement and disposal costs for weapons/ordnance used in periodic destructive testing.

Satellite Imagery And Sigint $275K/yr

[#8] Satellite tasking, commercial imagery purchases and SIGINT access for cross-continental tracking.

Replacement Repair Pool $250K/yr

[#19] Contingency fund for replacing or repairing equipment lost or degraded within SCP-514's zone of influence.

Media And Misinformation $175K/yr

[#22] Media management, strategic communications and misinformation operations to manage public narrative.

Device Operation And Maintenance $162K/yr

[#6] Operation, consumables, field technicians, calibrations and spares for the avian-manipulation device.

Secure Comms Maintenance $100K/yr

[#10] Recurring comms/data bandwidth, crypto maintenance and service contracts.

Public Safety And Medical $100K/yr

[#20] Screening, debriefs, counseling and post-exposure medical monitoring for civilians and personnel.

Training And Simulations $85K/yr

[#4] Ongoing refresher/qualification training, simulations, and travel for scenario exercises.

Non Sentient Herding Ops $62K/yr

[#26] Operations and maintenance for non-sentient herding alternatives (robotic decoys/drones, lures).

Avian Husbandry And Veterinary $29K/yr

[#16] Feed, supplements, vaccinations and periodic veterinary procedures for a flock of 50–200 birds.

Capture Equipment Replacement $25K/yr

[#17] Replacement/consumables for capture/handling gear and remote lures.

Supplies And Consumables $0/yr

[]

⚡ Cost Scenarios

📊 Baseline (baseline) $7.4M/yr

86.0% probability / year

Normal year with steady-state operations, no major incidents or public exposures.

routine_surveillance scheduled_training standard_research

🚨 Minor Incident $7.9M/yr

12.0% probability / year +$500K vs baseline

Localized exposure or equipment loss requiring modest extra covert operations, replacement of assets, and increased testing/PR activity.

localized_public_sighting limited_equipment_degradation small_covert_operation

🚨 Major Breach $12.4M/yr

2.0% probability / year +$5.0M vs baseline

Significant public exposure or large-scale equipment losses requiring emergency relocation, major replacements, expanded testing, and substantial legal/cover operations.

large_public_exposure mass_equipment_destruction forced_relocation

👥 Personnel 16 total

Role	Count	Notes
MTF Team Leader	1	[#1] Team leader for Lambda-4 operational deployments.
MTF Field Operative / Agent	8	[#1] Primary field operatives for continuous observation and intervention.
Pilot	2	[#1] Pilots for rotary assets and rapid-response aircraft.
Medic	2	[#1] Medics embedded with deployment rotations.
Communications Technician	2	[#1] Comms and SIGINT specialists for secure links and ISR coordination.
Support / Logistics Specialist	1	[#1] Logistics/support for rotations, equipment handling, and rapid-deploy shipping.

📋 Confidence Notes

Analyst notes provide detailed line items and ranges but many items are range estimates and contingent on operational choices (purchase vs lease, scale of R&D, frequency of covert ops), producing moderate confidence in aggregated figures.

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