First Responders

Police, fire, and search-and-rescue teams putting drones to work when minutes matter.

1,564

Articles

116

Beats covered

Reporters on beat

Oct 22

Last updated

Gray Skydio X10 drone with a three-sensor camera gimbal hovering low over a green field with trees behind it

DFR

Lakeland's $22M Axon Deal Adds Drones, Taps Immigration Grant

Lakeland OKs a $21.98M, 10-year Axon deal with Drone as First Responder flights. An immigration grant is applied to its first two years. Money itemized.

Haye KestelooOct 5

Entrance canopy of the FBI campus at Redstone Arsenal with large blue lettering reading Federal Bureau of Investigation, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, above five guard booths

Counter-Drone

FBI Drone School to Double Capacity After 700 World Cup Seizures

DOJ's No. 3 says the FBI's Redstone Arsenal counter-drone school will more than double capacity. It is the only gate to new police drone takedown powers.

Haye KestelooOct 5

Flock Safety Alpha drone lifting off from its white rooftop dock inside a fenced enclosure, city skyline behind

Police

Warwick Police Flock Drone Waits On T.F. Green's Zero-Foot FAA Grids

Warwick, RI's $150,000 Flock Alpha police drone has a BVLOS waiver but no airport airspace approval. FAA facility map grids at T.F. Green read 0 feet.

Haye KestelooOct 5

A blue, white and gold VISA hot air balloon floats in a clear blue sky above a multi-lane road and roadside businesses in Albuquerque.

FAA

FBI's Balloon Fiesta No Drone Zone Runs On A Clock: 10.5 Hours A Day

FBI counter-drone teams are enforcing the Balloon Fiesta TFR, but the FAA's two NOTAMs run 5:30 a.m. to noon and 4 to 8 p.m. daily, not around the clock.

Haye KestelooOct 4

Man pointing at a redacted DHS report ranking the DJI Matrice 4T above competing drones, with the Matrice 4T on the table

Blue sUAS

DHS Tested DJI Against Blue UAS and Hid the Scores. Why Weren't We Told?

A DHS addendum obtained by DroneXL scores the DJI Matrice 4T at 4.6 and the Matrice 30T at 4.3 at Hudson Yards, above the Skydio X10D at 3.7. The public report left those numbers out. I think we're allowed to ask why.

Russ 51 DronesOct 2