Newport Beach police drones logged 912 flights over crime scenes, accidents and other calls in just three months, arriving before officers on nearly two-thirds of those responses. Now the Newport Beach City Council has approved a multi-year expansion of the department's drone program, a move city staff estimate will cost nearly $752,000 in its first year and more than $4.5 million over six years.
What the City Council Approved
The council's approval, covered by the Los Angeles Times, allows the police department to expand its drone program through Skydio and Axon, purchasing additional Skydio drones and technologies through Axon's contract with the city. The department requested Skydio drones, docks and related systems, along with body cameras for park patrol and parking control officers. Because the purchase runs through Axon, the city must amend its existing Axon Enterprise contract, which has 73 months remaining on its original 10-year term, according to the same report.
Axon is described in that reporting as a technology and weapons company that creates military and law enforcement equipment, and it already supplies Newport Beach police with digital evidence storage, body-worn cameras and other tools. Skydio, which designs and manufactures autonomous AI-powered drones, is a strategic partner with Axon and will integrate with many of the department's existing systems as part of the expansion.
Why Officials Say the Cost Is Worth It
Law enforcement officials believe the collaboration's benefits will exceed its additional costs, per the Los Angeles Times account of the council's decision. Newport Beach presents a particular challenge for drone operators — the city has tall buildings, hills and regular connectivity issues — and officials say Skydio's technology has the capability to overcome those geographical and connectivity obstacles.
Skydio's own marketing describes its Drone as First Responder platform as capable of providing live aerial intelligence to officers or clearing calls without dispatching an officer at all, according to Skydio's website. The company says its drones launch in under 20 seconds and can autonomously reach incidents in under 90 seconds, part of what it calls new levels of speed, safety and efficiency. Skydio's DFR Command software is built to connect calls for service, remote flight, live situational awareness, fleet operations and evidence workflows in a single system.
Three Months of Data Behind the Push
The numbers behind Newport Beach's expansion come from its own recent deployment history. Drones located people in 22.5% of deployments, located vehicles in nearly 12%, and located objects in 4%, while arriving first on scene in nearly 65% of all deployments over the three-month stretch, the Times reported. Officials say that track record delivered helpful intelligence and overwatch support to officers on the ground.
City officials expect the expanded coverage and availability to enhance the department's ability to respond to calls for service in a timely, informed and efficient manner. The added drones are meant to give officers real-time situational awareness before they even arrive on scene, help locate people or vehicles more quickly, and help commanders determine what resources a given call actually needs.
Part of a Broader Statewide Trend
Newport Beach is not alone in leaning on flying cameras for policing. Skydio's Drone as First Responder program is already used by agencies across the country, including 83 in California, and the company says more than 1,500 public safety agencies overall now use its technology. Nearby, the Irvine Police Department also operates a Drone as First Responder program, according to the Atlas of Surveillance, as do the Chula Vista and Clovis police departments.
The growth mirrors a national surge. As of February 2026, more than 1,000 public safety agencies had received the FAA waivers needed to automate drone flights and launch their own first-responder programs, and the agency issued more of those waivers between April 2025 and February 2026 than in the previous seven years combined, according to the Electronic Frontier Foundation. The organization notes Axon's own drone platform has become one of its fastest-growing business lines.
Other departments report similar patterns to what Newport Beach saw. Schenectady City Police in New York cleared 64% of drone-dispatched calls without sending officers, per the National League of Cities. A Skydio testimonial cites a department that cleared 41% of calls without officers, with drones arriving first 80% of the time.
