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 over New York and New Jersey.
The sightings are being investigated by the Joint Terrorism Task Force, an NYPD official said.
“We have NYPD detectives as well as FBI agents and state officials and they’re on it,” said spokesman Carlos Nieves, who refused to give specifics about the investigation and referred reporters to the FBI.
The FBI did not immediately return a request for comment.
About 60 police officers, many of whom are licensed by the FAA, are trained to use the devices called unmanned aerial vehicles (UAUs).
The NYPD has been using a model of drone called the Skydio X10 in its Drone as First Responder pilot program, which sends the devices out on 911 calls in five precincts.
The department hasn’t said whether the drones have weapon capabilities but the manufacturer’s website calls them “combat-ready.”
“Move with speed and efficiency when you choose UAS that are . . . adapted to meet defense requirements,” the website states. “Observe individuals, vehicles, or suspicious objects at 1km range to accurately identify hostile intent.”
The model also has night-vision capabilities and a platform that allows it to be fitted with attachments in the field, the website states.
The first responder program uses drones on 911 calls in Brooklyn’s 75th, 67th, and 71st precincts, the 48 Precinct in the Bronx, and the Central Park Precinct, which saw a surge in crime over the summer and has many blind spots because of a dearth of cameras, officials have said.
The drones hover high above a chase when suspects are on the run and can alert cops to their location. They can also respond when children are missing or in danger.
In a recent case, a drone responded to a 4-year-old girl precariously hanging from a fourth-floor window in the Bronx, Deputy Commissioner of Operations Kaz Daughtry said.
“They launched their Skydio X10 drones to that building,” Daughtry said. The drone operator alerted cops “over the radio and told those police officers that you need to hurry up and get there,” Daughtry said.
The drones, which have also been used to respond to tragedies like a garage collapse and recent brush fires in the city, do not contain facial recognition technology, the NYPD has said.
The NYPD first launched its drone program with 14 of the devices back in 2018.