Our UAS Blog

21 February 2020 | Public Safety

Drones are an important new tool for the fire service and have already proven their ability to save lives. Willingness to embrace drones (or unmanned aerial vehicles [UAVs]) for fire applications varies widely by department, and it’s not just larger departments that are making the investment. Some smaller departments are investing in drones in a big way, even as some larger departments are reticent.

16 February 2020 | Disaster Response, Specialized FAA Waivers

CHULA VISTA —  Chula Vista Police Chief Roxana Kennedy told a story recently about how officers avoided tragedy while responding to a 911 call about a man waving a small gun around in front of a taco shop on Broadway.The first thing the department did was send a drone. It arrived in less than a minute and before any patrol vehicles got to the scene.

10 September 2019 | Public Safety

There are several different law enforcement drone pilot training programs out there, but the important thing is to make sure you have more than just the classroom information.DIFFERENCES BETWEEN PART 107 AND COAMany online Part 107 training programs just teach you enough to pass the test. Largely absent from those classes is any information about how to actually fly a drone, so hands-on and in-person training is a must.Under a COA, the FAA allows police departments to self-certify their drone operators, so that puts quite a bit of responsibility on UAS program coordinators to make decisions about training.

16 August 2019 | Private Security & Event Overwatch

Counter-drone or counter UAS technology firm Dedrone completed a nine month study on the subject of drones over correctional facilities in 2019.  The results are frightening – and demonstrate exactly why the industry needs counter drone technology to be implemented over prisons and other sensitive facilities.

16 August 2019 | Uncategorized

For last 3 years, our crack team of talented drone pilots have been flying regularly on emergency management missions throughout the country. With literally thousands of hours of flight time logged, we assumed our pilots were probably full of pro tips for the early stage public safety drone program.And, boy, were we right! Here are just a few of the very best.

3 July 2019 | Uncategorized

While Part 107 and Public Aircraft Operations (PAO under a COA) are the two regulatory frameworks under which a public safety agency can legally operate sUAS or drones, neither framework establishes a specific guideline for basic training of police drone pilots. In short, there is no national standard for drone pilots. 

25 May 2019 | Public Safety

Seems like we’re seeing this more and more. Drones are helping in search and rescue situations where sUAS continue to find missing persons. The integration of thermal and FLIR sensors and cameras with UAS allows for search operations day and night and certainly helped in this situation which occurred in Orange County, California.

20 April 2019 | Disaster Response

Technology is changing around us every day, and the drone industry is no exception. We have been shouting from the rooftops since 2014 about how UAS technology could improve safety for fire fighters and police officers, but in the wake of a catastrophic fire at the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, some people are dreaming MUCH bigger than a single drone with a single camera.