First Responders

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

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Nov 9

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DJI Matrice 5TD drone hovering above an open white DJI Dock 4 on a grassy hillside, with an O4 Ground Station mast to the left and high-voltage transmission towers behind

LAUNCH

DJI Dock 4 Swaps Batteries in 25 Seconds, but Its Specs Skip the FCC

DJI's Dock 4 and Matrice 5TD bring a 25-second battery swap and 59-minute flights. Its radio specs cover Canada, Europe, China and Japan. Not the US.

Haye KestelooOct 14

Police

Flock Bets on Police Drones as San Francisco Weighs Drone Limits

Flock's CEO says drones will be nearly half its future revenue. San Francisco's Police Commission takes up its police drone rules on October 14.

Haye KestelooOct 13

Kyle Nordfors in a red Weber County Search and Rescue shirt holds a DJI Matrice 30T overhead with one arm against a blue sky, propellers spinning, as a second man watches from behind

Police

DJI Curbs Hit Police Budgets: $10,500 Matrice vs. $21,000 US Rival

One Ocean County, NJ sheriff's drone kit costs $29,428. NPR priced a US-made rival at twice DJI's Matrice 400, and sheriffs want an FCC exemption.

Haye KestelooOct 13

TEASER

DJI Teases Dock 4 With Battery Swapping for October 14, Not for the US

DJI's October 14 teaser shows its next dock, the leaked Dock 4, swapping a charged battery into a new drone. Dock 3 charges in place. The US can't buy it.

Haye KestelooOct 8

Fourteen-story beige concrete hotel tower with vertical window strips and Holiday Inn signs, seen against a clear blue sky with a palm tree in front

Police

Laredo Police Vow to Take Down Drones at Hotel Fire. FAA Lists No TFR

Laredo's police chief says officers will mitigate drones over the DoubleTree fire. Federal law lets local police do that only with FBI certification.

Haye KestelooOct 7

Skydio X10 drone sitting inside an open Skydio Dock on a rooftop, city skyline at sunset behind it

Police

Bellingham Police Pick Skydio for DFR, 1 Response in 23 Logged Flights

Bellingham police fly Skydio DFR drones on a $475,417 state grant. The public log shows 23 flights since Aug. 19, one an incident response.

Haye KestelooOct 6

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

First Responders

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