Leesburg commissioners have approved the purchase of a U.S. built drone for use by the police department.
Recent legislation at both the federal and state level limits the use of foreign-made drones by government agencies.
“The Leesburg Police Department recently purchased two drones with the use of a Florida Department of Law Enforcement grant to replace what the Florida Legislature considered non-complaint drones from ‘Foreign Countries of Concern. There are currently three (3) FAA licensed sUAS pilots in the Police Department. The additional drone would allow for all pilots to have an assigned drone. This allows for rapid deployment for various missions including missing children/persons, hostage situations, crime scene documentation, wanted persons or any other situation deemed appropriate,” said Police Chief Joe Iozzi.
The department was authorized to use $28,863 from the Police Forfeiture Fund for the purchase.
“More than 90 percent of law enforcement agencies in Florida used Chinese drones in 2022, and the number of Chinese made drones plummeted to about 14 percent,” according to Christopher Todd, executive director of the not-for-profit group Airborne International Response Team.
The drone selected by the department is a Skydio X10 Drone model made by the California-based Skydio company. According to the company, the X10 Drone model is a “ruggedized, portable airframe which is ready for autonomous flight day or night. Serves well for situational awareness, asset inspection, and base defense.”
The new drone has thermal-imaging capabilities for use during searches as well as high-definition cameras.