Drone as First Responder

News, deep dives, and analysis — every Drone as First Responder story, newest first.

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Nov 13

Last updated

Police

Boston Police Drone Wrecks a Parked Car Six Days Into Its DFR Pilot

A BRINC Responder flown by Boston police fell onto a Mazda in Brighton on September 3, less than a week after BPD sold the program on safety.

Haye KestelooSep 19

Pilot Institute host presenting the weekly drone news update covering a police drone crash, DJI Neo 3 leaks, Wingcopter's recon drone, and a drone rescue

Drone as First Responder

Boston Police Drone Crashes on a Car Days After Its DFR Launch

Welcome to your weekly UAS news update. We have four stories for you this week: a Boston police drone crashes, DJI Neo 3 leaks, Wingcopter unveils a new recon drone, and a search and rescue team in Canada uses drones to save a stranded climber. Let's get to it.

Greg ReverdiauSep 18

Skydio X10 drone resting on a rooftop dock with the dome of the Cathedral of Saint Paul out of focus behind it

DFR

St. Paul Pulls $200K Police Drone Grant. There Was No Plan B

St. Paul's council withdrew a $200,000 grant request for more police drones a week after the deputy chief said there was no other money to expand.

Haye KestelooSep 10

Saint Paul skyline and Mississippi River seen from the West Side neighborhood

DFR

St. Paul Votes on Police Drones Two Days After Pond Rescue

St. Paul's council decides Wednesday whether police can chase a $200,000 federal grant for more drones. Two members have already said no.

Haye KestelooSep 9

Jason Day of DRONERESPONDERS in a white cowboy hat and dark suit speaking at a podium marked Commercial UAV Expo, lit by blue stage lighting

ERIC TALLEY AWARD

DRONERESPONDERS Honors The Texas Program Behind 100,000 Sorties

Greg Whiting took the Eric Talley Public Safety UAS Excellence Award at Commercial UAV Expo, days after his Texas program logged its 100,000th sortie.

Haye KestelooSep 1

Wildfire

BRINC Ships Free Wildfire Layers In Days, On NOAA Data That Comes With Warnings

BRINC added live wildfire detections and smoke coverage to its LiveOps software at no additional cost, shipping the feature days after an engineer prototyped it. The layers run on NOAA satellite data that the agency itself labels strategic guidance rather than tactical fire intelligence.

Haye KestelooAug 10

La Vista Police Department drone, as more than 1,000 agencies gain FAA clearance for Drone as First Responder flights

DFR

FAA Cleared Over 1,000 Agencies for Drone First Responder Flights in 10 Months, and the Full List Is Now Public

A FOIA release names 1,000+ agencies the FAA cleared for drone first responder flights in 10 months, more than in the previous seven years combined.

Haye KestelooAug 7

Police

NSW PolAir Remote Drone Finds Hidden Woman In Moree

A PolAir Remote drone flown from Bankstown Airport — 300 miles away — spotted a woman leaving a shed during a welfare check in Moree, leading to her arrest for breaching a domestic violence order. Australia's first remotely piloted police drone trial keeps converting flights into arrests.

Rafael SuárezAug 6

Drone as First Responder

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