Bungalower has learned that the Orlando Police Department ran a seven-week trial of a drone-as-first-responder program. OPD liked what it saw: a single drone docked at OPD headquarters responded to 185 calls for service, arrived on scene before officers 33% of the time, and provided useful information in 97% of those calls, an OPD spokesperson said.
Now the department is getting 11 of them.
City council on Monday approved a contract amendment with Axon Enterprises adding 11 Skydio drones to OPD’s existing technology platform, at an estimated annual cost of $759,322. The initial term is four years with the option to renew for five additional one-year terms — a deal worth $6.8 million at full term.
The drones will be used for what OPD calls a “Drones as a First Responder” program, integrated with the department’s Crime Center. A sworn police officer pilot, licensed by the FAA, will decide when to launch a drone in response to specific 911 calls, the spokesperson said. Examples include anything life-threatening, major property damage, or the imminent escape of a suspect.
“By getting eyes on the situation quicker, the DFR program provides safety to not only our residents but also to our officers as they respond to these dangerous calls,” the spokesperson said.
The target response time is under three minutes. Dock station locations are still being determined but will be “strategically located in order to provide the appropriate coverage throughout the city,” the spokesperson said. There is no coverage map yet.
The trial results are particularly notable because they were collected with the drone docked at OPD headquarters — an area already heavily staffed with patrol officers. In parts of the city with longer response times, the difference could be more pronounced.
How it works
In a DFR program, a 911 call comes in and a drone launches from the nearest dock. The aircraft flies to the location, begins streaming video with thermal imaging capability, and relays information to officers en route. It’s the difference between arriving blind and arriving informed.
St. Cloud became the first agency in Central Florida to stand up a DFR program in December 2025, using the same Skydio X10 drones Orlando is purchasing. In one early call there, a drone was dispatched to a mental health crisis involving a man with a knife and reached the scene before officers, relaying that the man had pocketed the weapon — information that changed how officers approached.
Orlando’s program would be substantially larger. St. Cloud launched with a handful of drones; Orlando is buying 11 dock-capable units integrated into the existing Crime Center infrastructure that Chief Eric Smith has credited with helping drive a 30% reduction in shootings since 2022.
The Axon relationship
The drone purchase adds to an already substantial relationship between OPD and Scottsdale-based Axon Enterprises. The city approved a cooperative purchasing contract with Axon in April 2025 for body cameras, in-car cameras, conducted energy weapons, and software licenses at an estimated $5 million per year. On Feb. 9, the council added 40 Axon Fleet 3 in-car cameras for $985,000.
With the drone amendment, the city’s total annual Axon spend rises to roughly $6.7 million — covering body cameras on officers, cameras in cruisers, and now eyes in the sky.
The contract includes hardware kits for 11 X10 dock systems, DFR Command software licenses, unlimited cloud storage per drone, thermal sensors, parachute systems, commissioning and training, and maintenance plans. Deployment will be phased, with Phase 1 dock operations bundles followed by Phase 2 refresh bundles.
The DJI factor
Orlando’s choice of Skydio is not entirely voluntary. Florida banned government agencies from using Chinese-manufactured drones — primarily DJI, which dominated roughly 90% of the public safety drone market. The ban forced agencies statewide to ground over $200 million worth of equipment, and the state provided just $25 million in replacement funding.
Skydio, headquartered in San Mateo, California, is the primary American-made alternative. But the switch comes at a cost. Comparable DJI enterprise drones run $11,500 to $13,500, while Skydio X10 units cost $16,000 to $25,000 each — before factoring in annual software subscriptions of $1,500 to $3,000 per drone for features that came standard on DJI systems.
Skydio now operates in more than 1,000 public safety agencies nationwide, including the NYPD and SFPD.
Privacy questions
The expansion comes as civil liberties groups are raising alarms about the rapid growth of DFR programs nationwide. The FAA has granted approximately 1,400 waivers for DFR operations, with 410 approved in just the first two months after the agency streamlined its process in May, according to the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s 2025 review. The EFF noted that the technology is “increasingly part of the police plans for real-time crime centers, meaning that the footage being captured by these flying cameras is being integrated into other streams and analyzed in ways that we’re still learning about.”
OPD addressed several privacy concerns directly. The drones will not be used for surveillance outside of active calls, the spokesperson said. They will not have facial recognition, license plate reader, or cell phone interception capabilities. Data retention will follow public records requirements, and all policies will be available on the city website at orlando.gov. State law will govern the types of calls drones can respond to.
Florida’s Freedom from Unwarranted Surveillance Act requires a warrant for drone surveillance in most circumstances, though drones dispatched to active 911 calls may fall under exigent circumstances exceptions.
What’s next
The contract lists an estimated start date of April 15. Dock station locations are still being determined.
The OPD spokesperson described the program as “a strategic public safety investment ensuring residents receive faster emergency response, enhanced officer decision-making, and improved outcomes during the critical first minutes of 911 calls.”
Updated Feb. 24, 2026: Updated to reflect city council approval on Feb. 23.
This story was developed using AI analysis of public records, official transcripts and interview responses from sources. See our editorial standards for more information about how we produce coverage.