First Responders

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

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Oct 22

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A Weber County Search and Rescue member in a red jacket with white crosses leans over a folding table beside a white van, fitting batteries into a DJI Matrice 30T drone sitting on a stack of black hard cases.

DSPA

DSPA Breaks Charter to Take DHS Blue UAS Report to Congress

DSPA's Vic Moss asks pilots to call Congress over DHS's Blue UAS test: name an agency to test every drone's security, stop banning by country of origin.

Haye KestelooSep 28

A Manna Air Delivery employee in a white jacket holds a Manna delivery drone overhead against a blue sky

Manna Aero

Manna Pitches Tulsa Fire Drone AEDs, an Idea Dublin Never Launched

Tulsa Fire gets a free Manna drone pilot for defibrillators and trauma kits. The Irish trials Manna cites: one simulated drop from a hub it has since shut.

Haye KestelooSep 27

A gray Skydio X10D quadcopter hovers in front of the copper Vessel structure and high-rises at Hudson Yards in Manhattan during the DHS complex urban assessment.

DHS report

DHS Lab Grounds 3 of 5 Blue UAS in NYC, Withholds Chinese Drone Scores

DHS lab put Blue UAS before 26 public safety pilots: three of five could not fly Manhattan, links dropped at 50 feet, Chinese drone scores stay private.

Haye KestelooSep 25

Flock Safety Alpha quadcopter in flight against a pink dusk sky, its multi-lens gimbal camera hanging beneath the body

Police

Edison Buys a 60 MPH Flock Drone, Promises 45-Second Response

Edison, NJ is spending $589,000 in forfeiture money on 92 Flock cameras and a thermal DFR drone. The mayor's 45-second claim beats Flock's own figure.

Haye KestelooSep 25

Skydio

Skydio's 100 mph F10 Debuts at Ascend, Where 'Lobbying' Is Profanity

Skydio unveiled the dock-launched F10 Lightrunner at Ascend 2026. Its livestream chat also removed a comment about lobbying as profanity.

Haye KestelooSep 24

Police

Cleveland Police Drone Policy Bans What Ohio's New Law Still Allows

Ohio's HB 251 police drone law starts Oct. 6. Cleveland's Skydio X10 rules already ban facial recognition, protest surveillance and all weapons.

Haye KestelooSep 20

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

First Responders

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