City will buy American made.
The Florida Legislature amended Section 934.50, Florida Statutes, during its 2022 session. The change directed law enforcement and other government agencies to put in place plans to discontinue use of drones not built by an approved manufacturer because others could pose security risks.
The State of Florida made this move after the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), the Interior Department, and other federal agencies banned some drones because of their potential to be used for intelligence gathering by enemies of the U.S. “DeSantis came out with a bill that was a guideline from DoD to ground everything made by China,” PCPD Chief Richard Mills commented.
According to Florida Department of Management Services Secretary, Pedro Allende, Florida is a high-value target for Chinese intelligence gathering from both military and domestic sites.
The leader for manufacturing commercially used drones in the U.S. is China-based Da Jiang Innovations (DJI). The Plant City Police Department (PCPD) has three DJI drones they have to remove from service.
PCPD used drones for hurricane assessment before and after Milton struck. The department also uses them for checking routes for various events like parades, and monitoring events at the stadium. “What has been working very, very well is searching for missing or endangered persons—someone with dementia, or a missing kid, or something like that,” Chief Mills said. “They have infrared where they will pick up body heat signatures. They have daylight, lowlight, and night cameras. We send the drones up, and we can go search for those missing people.”
New commercial drones cost around $25,000 each. Removing them from service is a big financial hit. However, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) has in place a drone program that can give police up to $25,000 for each drone replaced by a drone from an approved list. Now is the time for PCPD to act on the Florida legislation to stop the use of its DJI drones.
At the city commission meeting on July 14, city commissioners voted to approve the purchase of three replacement drones that meet government security standards. The cost is $72,153.
The new PCPD drones will be the X-10 manufactured in the U.S. by Skydio. Three Massachusetts Institute of Technology graduates founded Skydio. The California company manufactures drones for use in battlefield situation awareness, policing, and inspection. Its drones are used in every branch of the DoD.
To be eligible for the FDLE drone reimbursement, the DJI drones must not be at end-of-life and still in working condition. Also, the drones must be handed off to the FDLE. The first two working drones of each make and model will be provided to the Florida Center for Cybersecurity at the University of South Florida (USF) for analysis. The drones relinquished to FDLE from all law enforcement agencies that aren’t routed to cybersecurity will be destroyed.
Keep your eyes on the Plant City skies and you could see the new drones coming your way soon.
