The NYPD has a fleet of at least 109 drones that could be called into service in the face of recent incursions in the skies of New York and New Jersey.
The sightings are being investigated by the Joint Terrorism Task Force, a New York police official said.
“We have NYPD detectives as well as FBI agents and state officials and they are involved,” said spokesman Carlos Nieves, who declined to give details of the investigation and referred journalists at the FBI.
The FBI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
About 60 police officers, many of whom are FAA certified, are trained to use the devices called unmanned aerial vehicles (UAUs).
The NYPD is using a drone model called the Skydio X10 in its Drone as First Responder pilot program, which sends the devices to 911 calls in five precincts.
The ministry did not specify whether the drones had military capabilities, but the manufacturer’s website describes them as “combat ready.”
“Move with speed and efficiency when you choose UAS that are . . . tailored to meet defense requirements,” the website states. “Observe suspicious individuals, vehicles or objects from a distance of 1 km to accurately identify hostile intentions. »
The model also has night vision capabilities and a platform that allows it to be equipped with accessories in the field, the website states.
The first responder program uses drones for 911 calls in Brooklyn’s 75th, 67th and 71st precincts, the Bronx’s 48th precinct and the Central Park neighborhood, which saw an increase in crime over the summer and has many blind spots due to shortage. cameras, officials said.
Drones hover over a chase when suspects are on the run and can alert cops to their location. They can also intervene when children are missing or in danger.
In one recent case, a drone responded to a 4-year-old girl hanging precariously from a fourth-story window in the Bronx, said Deputy Commissioner for Operations Kaz Daughtry.
“They launched their Skydio X10 drones toward this building,” Daughtry said. The drone operator alerted the cops “over the radio and told them you need to hurry up and get there,” Daughtry said.
The drones, which have also been used to respond to tragedies such as a garage collapse and the city’s recent brush fires, do not contain facial recognition technology, the New York Police Department said.
The NYPD first launched its drone program with 14 devices in 2018.
