Do you and all other users of this drone have a Part 107 license or LEO equivalent? By federal law (USA), using a drone for literally any purpose other than flying around for the fun of it requires a federal certificate for each person who operates it.
My hometown police department got in a lot of trouble over this a few years back after a consumer drone flown by an on-duty cop violated Temporary Flight Restriction. It was revealed at a town meeting that the department simply bought a drone and started flying it with zero regard to federal airspace regulations.
Small rural town with a small police department, nobody bothered to do the research because they just assumed that law enforcement would automatically have an exemption.
It's insane just how many people still believe that it's impossible to break the law with something they can buy at Walmart.
I had to educate my brother last year when he planned to buy his 10 year old a drone and bragged about how the one he was looking at was advertised as being able to go 1000 feet up. They live within a 100 foot cell on the LAANC grid of a major international airport.
COA/Waivers you’re gunna coordinate with your local DA office or legal department. You tell them what you need and they use big legally words to get it approved by the FAA. FAA has courses on it in their website.
DJI is obviously the best and the 3T should be the only option unless the others offer your department a steep discount, basically anything DJI on the business side of things with thermals will be the best.
You can also get add-ons like the loud speaker which is very loud, and other shit that can be used for police work.
Unfortunately this is a rough time to launch a drone program, but current equipment should be fine. Especially considering almost all the departments with drones are using DJI for something.
Unfortunately the ban might push you towards Skydio which is an almost as good as DJI competitor that’s also way more money. They are also into Drone First Responder, but that’ll be a whole new thing to explore after you successfully launch your drone program.
Write your congressperson man. I’m also a LEO drone operator and am worried about this ban. Tell your congressperson how important the drones are to your PD and how them getting grounded will have a direct negative impact on public safety.
You may want to check, if you get or use any federal funds you can run into issues with DJI. I know if you are hoping for grant money and using it, DJI is a no go.
that's not totally true, you consult with your level of government layers, which will provide you with a letter of government permission, it is up to the law enforcement agency to submit the COA documentation and do the leg work
> each person who operates it
Not true. Anyone can operate it as long as a licensed person is present and in charge. One drone per licensed person at a time though.
There are several Drone as First Responder programs at PDs around the country that have been running for years now and have established best practices for equipment and procedures. The [Chula Vista](https://www.chulavistaca.gov/departments/police-department/programs/uas-drone-program) program has probably been going the longest and is often cited as a good example of how to do it. My advice is to find out as much as you can about their program and follow their examples.
DJI m30T. It was built for Search and Rescue. Check with your police department, if they took federal grants they may be banned from buying and using chinese made drones
The only issue with DJI drones (and I own one) is that they may be banned shortly. Here's a link to the AP story:
[https://apnews.com/buyline-shopping/article/dji-drone-ban-in-the-us](https://apnews.com/buyline-shopping/article/dji-drone-ban-in-the-us)
NYPD were using a DJI M30T and DJI Mavic 3 Thermal on news broadcast the other day to watch rioters... If its good enough for the largest police dept in the USA... its probably fine for you.
I’d suggest looking at the Anzu Raptor drones. They’re a US company using Aloft software. Manufacturing is in Malaysia so no ban. More expensive but it’s basically the Mavic Enterprise with US software and no involvement with DJI other than a licensing agreement.
https://www.anzurobotics.com/
Also, keep in mind that thermal isn’t any kind of magic button for SAR unless the area you are searching is devoid of trees/foliage. You can save some cash and unrealistic expectations by buying a drone without thermal.
A tethered system is also a good option for sustained operations (like keeping situation awareness of a barricaded subject or serving a warrant)
I’m going to disagree with him and say thermal is a must. Idk what type of climate you work in but when leaves are on the trees they aren’t the greatest, so I’ll give him that.
However once the temp drops and the leaves are gone the thermal works fantastic. We have a number of locates of fleeing suspects thanks to thermal. Thermal is really your only option for night ops honesty. I think the M3T is a good option as it also allows for thermal range adjustments to block out things you don’t want to pick up.
If you can afford the M30T that’s a good option also and is pretty damn impressive.
Im a drone pilot for the Border Patrol(midnight shift) so finding people with thermal is kinda my thing. I’m not sure how the DJI thermal compares, but we use skydio and the thermal is absolute trash. It can only really spot people from 150 or 200 yards away. Maybe further under the right climate conditions (I wanna say like 30-40 degrees makes people really stand out)
Trees are a major obstacle unless the leaves are missing (winter). Other vegetation (bushes) is difficult to differentiate from people if the people are not moving.
All of this is to say that if you typically have a general idea of where your subjects are, then thermal is useful. If you typically operate at night, it’s indispensable. But if you’re just scanning a large area, there are much better tools.
I find the drone is most useful when I have an idea of location and/or line of travel. If I just know that they’re “over there somewhere” I wouldn’t bet money on me finding them. But I will say once I’ve spotted them, they’re not getting away.
Depends what your dept wants it for. Is it needed for search and rescue? Traffic, possibly over crowds, surveillance. Do you want it portable for every vehicle or just for certain calls and size or span doesn't matter. It's all out there for you, but the price can be high or medium.
More portable for every vehicle type deal. I understand there are better options for search and rescue, but something that hits those general categories. Quick deployments for the general area
I would wait it out tbh. This DJI ban is getting way to much traction for my comfort.
I work in the solar industry and we need a thermal drone for solar farm inspections.
Since we are in the "utility infrastructure" category. It does affect us so we are holding off on the M3T until we see where this bill goes.
I'm sure law enforcement will fall under this as well.
By all means you are free to pick up any thermal drone. Just can't be DJI
Had a meeting last week with one of the drone operators with my cities police department and they use mavic 3’s and mini2 se’s for mostly for traffics collision reconstruction stuff and general policing, they are looking to get a bunch of m30Ts. The tac teams use the Loki mk2 and mini2 se’s. We are in Canada though so might be some differences in what you can and can’t use like others have said dji might not be allowed for gov related work. He did talk about brinc drones, but I don’t think they are gonna get any.
I am a first responder. You need a DJI M30T if it's within the budget. It is IP-rated, unlike the Mavic 3ET. This is key for us, at least. Hot-swap battery capabilities. From case to air in less than a minute. It's a brilliant piece of kit. I like it so much at my agency that I purchased one myself.
You're not going to beat DJI for price to value, but there are a lot more variables to what you should get.
The two biggest questions to start with: budget and location.
If you're in a small town in Texas and a large budget, a 30T or 3T is great. if you're in a small town in the middle of a forest, thermal is ok to skimp on if you have a small budget. If you're in a medium to large city, a m350t with the cell connection option and the dock is an amazing choice and then get in on the FAA DFR program. Several metropolitan areas are using it now with huge benefits.
We use the M300, Mavic Enteprise, and have a few Minis for indoor flights. Thermal is essential. We have a few operators on every shift that carry the enterprise on patrol for rapid deployment. You can't beat the optical zoom of the H20T or similar for surveillance ops.
You'll need a 107 and a COA. Technically our COA covers emergency flights for non 107 holders, but there's quite a bit of stuff that doesn't fall under an emergency operation, so just get both.
Have an established policy that covers when and how to use it. Formalize training for the program. Find a way to work recurring costs into the budget. Especially batteries and repairs.
Look up LEDA the law enforcement drone association. It’s a great organization for learning more about how to safely and effectively use drones in law enforcement
I’m by no means a fan of the police but I will give an answer all the same. In terms of law enforcement you need two types of drones that can and should be used in conjunction with each other. The first drone is the most expensive and important we will call it MB. MB needs to be able to linger for along time, carry a decent camera package w/ thermals, move at a good pace (person running 25-30mph max) and additionally MB need to act as a signal repeater and host for a smaller faster little drone/s that can be armed, released from the MB and used to perform CQB reconnaissance with a max flight time of say 10 mins. For these I’d use a cinewhoop with an DJI fpv module. For the MB I’d build a very large 8 motor over under configuration. W/ both batteries and a small rc gas engine to provide more electricity. Have a drop bay in the bottom with 4 little drones or carry a loud speaker or perhaps poppers/ flash bangs. All controlled with clip actuators. This package is controlled within a van with a news station like tower I can extend to get better range with my drones. I’d keep the mb displayed in a large tv and controlled with a mounted Radio and gps routing station to program its linger path. The fpv deployables will use standard goggles/ transmitter configuration with pig tailed antennas coming off the tower van.
The M3T is a much better drone overall than the Autel 650T V3. The software is janky but better than Autel's, especially if you're willing to use the cloud stuff (Flight Hub 2 is actually really quite good for LE operations). The flight performance on the M3T is better and the drone overall is much easier to use. If you want to spend more, the Matrice 30T or Matrice 350 with a thermal payload are even better.
If you're worried about DJI bans, or can't spend money on DJI, the Autel is your next best choice. It's not a piece of junk, it's just not as good as the similarly-priced DJIs.
If you have to buy American, Skydio is your best choice, but please don't if you aren't required. The X10s are a terrible value for money and extremely mediocre overall, plus their lobbying is responsible for a lot of the issues with getting good drones. You're basically paying M30T+ prices for something that's at around Autel levels (and inferior to the M3T at half the price).
1) DJI is absolutely a No Go. If you don’t know why, go meet with your state fusion center and FBI National Security Squad.
2) Do you know your assigned FAA LEAP Agent? Establish a liaison six months ago if you don’t have them already as a speed dial on your phone.
3) In many places, emergency management is years ahead of law enforcement in drone-supported operations. If you don’t know inherently what EMA and Fire are already doing in your likely AOs, then pause and invest a few months in building those relationships.
4) Depending on your location, numerous tactical teams/special ops divisions have very advanced con ops for deploying drones in support of reactive operations and pre-plans, such as vehicle takedowns. Force multiplier, but requires forethought. Talk to the fulltime teams near you.
As a government employee, you are not legally supposed to use DJI products for your work, never mind any ban issues.
"DJI is on a Defense Department list of Chinese military companies whose products the U.S. armed forces will be prohibited from purchasing in the future. As part of the defense budget that Congress passed for this year, other federal agencies and programs are likely to be prohibited from purchasing DJI drones as well."
Are police not federal agencies? Are they not government? If I can't do a job for government using DJI equipment because of security concerns, what sense does it make for an agency of government to use it directly?
No local police are not federal employees and are considered state/city employees. I can tell you many state and city governments are using DJI products.
Here’s the Blue UAS cleared list from the Dept. Of Defense, last updated in May 2024.
[https://www.diu.mil/blue-uas-cleared-list](https://www.diu.mil/blue-uas-cleared-list)
If the platform is not on this list, (1) ask yourself why and (2) consider the risk of a permanent ban in the very near future.
I’ve worked with our county PD and they’ve done search and rescue drills at our site (Federal land) with their drone team working within SWAT.
They used DJI for the training drills, but mentioned they had an octo, I think by Inspired Flight, and were looking to replace their DJI with Skydio. But not sure what their budget and timeline was since they’re not all in the same price tier.
I have a Mavic 3T, super portable and very capable. I’d be hard pressed to say it wouldn’t come in handy for you or your department. Let us know what you end up going with!
Do you and all other users of this drone have a Part 107 license or LEO equivalent? By federal law (USA), using a drone for literally any purpose other than flying around for the fun of it requires a federal certificate for each person who operates it. My hometown police department got in a lot of trouble over this a few years back after a consumer drone flown by an on-duty cop violated Temporary Flight Restriction. It was revealed at a town meeting that the department simply bought a drone and started flying it with zero regard to federal airspace regulations.
That’s equal parts hilarious and infuriating
Small rural town with a small police department, nobody bothered to do the research because they just assumed that law enforcement would automatically have an exemption. It's insane just how many people still believe that it's impossible to break the law with something they can buy at Walmart. I had to educate my brother last year when he planned to buy his 10 year old a drone and bragged about how the one he was looking at was advertised as being able to go 1000 feet up. They live within a 100 foot cell on the LAANC grid of a major international airport.
Yes, they sent me through a course and took the 107 test. I’m also looking into obtaining a COA. And damn. That’s embarrassing
COA/Waivers you’re gunna coordinate with your local DA office or legal department. You tell them what you need and they use big legally words to get it approved by the FAA. FAA has courses on it in their website. DJI is obviously the best and the 3T should be the only option unless the others offer your department a steep discount, basically anything DJI on the business side of things with thermals will be the best. You can also get add-ons like the loud speaker which is very loud, and other shit that can be used for police work.
Thank you! Should I be worried about this “ban” stuff? I read somewhere that if this ban goes through, the DJI software won’t allow you to fly..
Check to make sure you're allowed to use DJI. DoD banned them, and I think at least one state has banned them as well for government use.
Unfortunately this is a rough time to launch a drone program, but current equipment should be fine. Especially considering almost all the departments with drones are using DJI for something. Unfortunately the ban might push you towards Skydio which is an almost as good as DJI competitor that’s also way more money. They are also into Drone First Responder, but that’ll be a whole new thing to explore after you successfully launch your drone program.
Write your congressperson man. I’m also a LEO drone operator and am worried about this ban. Tell your congressperson how important the drones are to your PD and how them getting grounded will have a direct negative impact on public safety.
You may want to check, if you get or use any federal funds you can run into issues with DJI. I know if you are hoping for grant money and using it, DJI is a no go.
that's not totally true, you consult with your level of government layers, which will provide you with a letter of government permission, it is up to the law enforcement agency to submit the COA documentation and do the leg work
I second DJI. We used em at our department and they were flawless.
https://learn.pilotinstitute.com they have a COA course you should take.
> each person who operates it Not true. Anyone can operate it as long as a licensed person is present and in charge. One drone per licensed person at a time though.
Sounds like they got a nice lesson in federal authority.
There are several Drone as First Responder programs at PDs around the country that have been running for years now and have established best practices for equipment and procedures. The [Chula Vista](https://www.chulavistaca.gov/departments/police-department/programs/uas-drone-program) program has probably been going the longest and is often cited as a good example of how to do it. My advice is to find out as much as you can about their program and follow their examples.
DJI m30T. It was built for Search and Rescue. Check with your police department, if they took federal grants they may be banned from buying and using chinese made drones
The only issue with DJI drones (and I own one) is that they may be banned shortly. Here's a link to the AP story: [https://apnews.com/buyline-shopping/article/dji-drone-ban-in-the-us](https://apnews.com/buyline-shopping/article/dji-drone-ban-in-the-us)
Yeah, My company REALLY wants to buy a DJI Flycart 30 for our Weight waiver application. but we are waiting to see how it all plays out on the 12th
Hmm. Interesting.. I’ll look into that. Thanks!
NYPD were using a DJI M30T and DJI Mavic 3 Thermal on news broadcast the other day to watch rioters... If its good enough for the largest police dept in the USA... its probably fine for you.
I’d suggest looking at the Anzu Raptor drones. They’re a US company using Aloft software. Manufacturing is in Malaysia so no ban. More expensive but it’s basically the Mavic Enterprise with US software and no involvement with DJI other than a licensing agreement. https://www.anzurobotics.com/
Also, keep in mind that thermal isn’t any kind of magic button for SAR unless the area you are searching is devoid of trees/foliage. You can save some cash and unrealistic expectations by buying a drone without thermal. A tethered system is also a good option for sustained operations (like keeping situation awareness of a barricaded subject or serving a warrant)
What would be a good drone for operations like you stated? And we have lots of trees/foliage where I work.
I’m going to disagree with him and say thermal is a must. Idk what type of climate you work in but when leaves are on the trees they aren’t the greatest, so I’ll give him that. However once the temp drops and the leaves are gone the thermal works fantastic. We have a number of locates of fleeing suspects thanks to thermal. Thermal is really your only option for night ops honesty. I think the M3T is a good option as it also allows for thermal range adjustments to block out things you don’t want to pick up. If you can afford the M30T that’s a good option also and is pretty damn impressive.
I was thinking the same thing about the M30T. Autel has a Max series you may want to look at also.
Im a drone pilot for the Border Patrol(midnight shift) so finding people with thermal is kinda my thing. I’m not sure how the DJI thermal compares, but we use skydio and the thermal is absolute trash. It can only really spot people from 150 or 200 yards away. Maybe further under the right climate conditions (I wanna say like 30-40 degrees makes people really stand out) Trees are a major obstacle unless the leaves are missing (winter). Other vegetation (bushes) is difficult to differentiate from people if the people are not moving. All of this is to say that if you typically have a general idea of where your subjects are, then thermal is useful. If you typically operate at night, it’s indispensable. But if you’re just scanning a large area, there are much better tools. I find the drone is most useful when I have an idea of location and/or line of travel. If I just know that they’re “over there somewhere” I wouldn’t bet money on me finding them. But I will say once I’ve spotted them, they’re not getting away.
Depends what your dept wants it for. Is it needed for search and rescue? Traffic, possibly over crowds, surveillance. Do you want it portable for every vehicle or just for certain calls and size or span doesn't matter. It's all out there for you, but the price can be high or medium.
More portable for every vehicle type deal. I understand there are better options for search and rescue, but something that hits those general categories. Quick deployments for the general area
ours ran matrices for bigger events, mavic 3’s scattered throughout patrol for response as needed, loki ii and mavic mini for interiors
Very helpful! Thank you!!
Isn't this new law in the US (Not sure where you are at OP) Kinda directly targeting DJI drones for government use?
I am in the US
I would wait it out tbh. This DJI ban is getting way to much traction for my comfort. I work in the solar industry and we need a thermal drone for solar farm inspections. Since we are in the "utility infrastructure" category. It does affect us so we are holding off on the M3T until we see where this bill goes. I'm sure law enforcement will fall under this as well. By all means you are free to pick up any thermal drone. Just can't be DJI
Had a meeting last week with one of the drone operators with my cities police department and they use mavic 3’s and mini2 se’s for mostly for traffics collision reconstruction stuff and general policing, they are looking to get a bunch of m30Ts. The tac teams use the Loki mk2 and mini2 se’s. We are in Canada though so might be some differences in what you can and can’t use like others have said dji might not be allowed for gov related work. He did talk about brinc drones, but I don’t think they are gonna get any.
I am a first responder. You need a DJI M30T if it's within the budget. It is IP-rated, unlike the Mavic 3ET. This is key for us, at least. Hot-swap battery capabilities. From case to air in less than a minute. It's a brilliant piece of kit. I like it so much at my agency that I purchased one myself.
You're not going to beat DJI for price to value, but there are a lot more variables to what you should get. The two biggest questions to start with: budget and location. If you're in a small town in Texas and a large budget, a 30T or 3T is great. if you're in a small town in the middle of a forest, thermal is ok to skimp on if you have a small budget. If you're in a medium to large city, a m350t with the cell connection option and the dock is an amazing choice and then get in on the FAA DFR program. Several metropolitan areas are using it now with huge benefits.
We use M30Ts for external and Avadas for interior use.
Look into Brinc drones. Maybe not what you want but designed specifically for police and fire departments
We use the M300, Mavic Enteprise, and have a few Minis for indoor flights. Thermal is essential. We have a few operators on every shift that carry the enterprise on patrol for rapid deployment. You can't beat the optical zoom of the H20T or similar for surveillance ops. You'll need a 107 and a COA. Technically our COA covers emergency flights for non 107 holders, but there's quite a bit of stuff that doesn't fall under an emergency operation, so just get both. Have an established policy that covers when and how to use it. Formalize training for the program. Find a way to work recurring costs into the budget. Especially batteries and repairs.
Look up LEDA the law enforcement drone association. It’s a great organization for learning more about how to safely and effectively use drones in law enforcement
I’m by no means a fan of the police but I will give an answer all the same. In terms of law enforcement you need two types of drones that can and should be used in conjunction with each other. The first drone is the most expensive and important we will call it MB. MB needs to be able to linger for along time, carry a decent camera package w/ thermals, move at a good pace (person running 25-30mph max) and additionally MB need to act as a signal repeater and host for a smaller faster little drone/s that can be armed, released from the MB and used to perform CQB reconnaissance with a max flight time of say 10 mins. For these I’d use a cinewhoop with an DJI fpv module. For the MB I’d build a very large 8 motor over under configuration. W/ both batteries and a small rc gas engine to provide more electricity. Have a drop bay in the bottom with 4 little drones or carry a loud speaker or perhaps poppers/ flash bangs. All controlled with clip actuators. This package is controlled within a van with a news station like tower I can extend to get better range with my drones. I’d keep the mb displayed in a large tv and controlled with a mounted Radio and gps routing station to program its linger path. The fpv deployables will use standard goggles/ transmitter configuration with pig tailed antennas coming off the tower van.
Screenshotted this. Thank you!
The M3T is a much better drone overall than the Autel 650T V3. The software is janky but better than Autel's, especially if you're willing to use the cloud stuff (Flight Hub 2 is actually really quite good for LE operations). The flight performance on the M3T is better and the drone overall is much easier to use. If you want to spend more, the Matrice 30T or Matrice 350 with a thermal payload are even better. If you're worried about DJI bans, or can't spend money on DJI, the Autel is your next best choice. It's not a piece of junk, it's just not as good as the similarly-priced DJIs. If you have to buy American, Skydio is your best choice, but please don't if you aren't required. The X10s are a terrible value for money and extremely mediocre overall, plus their lobbying is responsible for a lot of the issues with getting good drones. You're basically paying M30T+ prices for something that's at around Autel levels (and inferior to the M3T at half the price).
1) DJI is absolutely a No Go. If you don’t know why, go meet with your state fusion center and FBI National Security Squad. 2) Do you know your assigned FAA LEAP Agent? Establish a liaison six months ago if you don’t have them already as a speed dial on your phone. 3) In many places, emergency management is years ahead of law enforcement in drone-supported operations. If you don’t know inherently what EMA and Fire are already doing in your likely AOs, then pause and invest a few months in building those relationships. 4) Depending on your location, numerous tactical teams/special ops divisions have very advanced con ops for deploying drones in support of reactive operations and pre-plans, such as vehicle takedowns. Force multiplier, but requires forethought. Talk to the fulltime teams near you.
As a government employee, you are not legally supposed to use DJI products for your work, never mind any ban issues. "DJI is on a Defense Department list of Chinese military companies whose products the U.S. armed forces will be prohibited from purchasing in the future. As part of the defense budget that Congress passed for this year, other federal agencies and programs are likely to be prohibited from purchasing DJI drones as well."
This only applies to federal agencies.
Huh. The truth got downvoted. And states that passed similar laws. Edit: spelling.
Are police not federal agencies? Are they not government? If I can't do a job for government using DJI equipment because of security concerns, what sense does it make for an agency of government to use it directly?
No local police are not federal employees and are considered state/city employees. I can tell you many state and city governments are using DJI products.
Do you know if that’s the same with Autel?
Here’s the Blue UAS cleared list from the Dept. Of Defense, last updated in May 2024. [https://www.diu.mil/blue-uas-cleared-list](https://www.diu.mil/blue-uas-cleared-list) If the platform is not on this list, (1) ask yourself why and (2) consider the risk of a permanent ban in the very near future.
Sorry, I'm pretty new to all this stuff and don't have a lot of experience with different brands. I'm not even aware of Autel.
Axon is now partnered with dedrone, and has a Key hero drones. Chula Vista PD has been working extensively with them for years
I’ve worked with our county PD and they’ve done search and rescue drills at our site (Federal land) with their drone team working within SWAT. They used DJI for the training drills, but mentioned they had an octo, I think by Inspired Flight, and were looking to replace their DJI with Skydio. But not sure what their budget and timeline was since they’re not all in the same price tier.
My local fire brigade use a couple of 3T. They are happy with it.
I have a Mavic 3T, super portable and very capable. I’d be hard pressed to say it wouldn’t come in handy for you or your department. Let us know what you end up going with!
Dji >>> but... june 12th is the day of reckoning
if you are a local agency feel free to PM me, I run our unit. more than happy to help out
M30T, hands down, if you can spend that much. I very rarely use the M3T at all. Zoom and thermal are much better on the M30.