FAA Flexible Drone Waivers Offer Boost for First Responders

As drone technology advances, some public safety agencies are reporting improved and faster approvals for Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) waivers, allowing them to expand the way they use drones.

At the end of 2024, the Fort Wayne, Ind., Police Department received a first-of-its-kind waiver granting the agency permission to deploy drones without a dedicated person watching the drone’s flight from a rooftop for their drone-as-first-responder (DFR) program. This permission increases the area agency drones can fly, while reducing the amount of people needed to operate the missions.

Additionally, the approval came in five weeks, much faster than the approval process other agencies have experienced. Experts in the field believe the waiver approval signals a willingness from the FAA that will inspire many more DFR programs.

The Fort Wayne Police Department first started integrating drones into its work in 2017, expanding to a DFR program in 2021. Officer Matt Rowland, a full-time air support pilot, said the technology has exponentially increased situational awareness and de-escalation of tense situations.

“Last year a call came in about a man who possibly had a weapon, and the drone got there and the guy just had a camera in his hand,” said Rowland, adding that the drones can also help clarify the information dispatch receives before officers arrive for better response. “People have issues sometimes especially in crisis with directions, which way they’re facing and which way they’re driving and a lot of times the drone can help sort that out.”

According to the department, public perception of the program is positive, an outcome they credit to transparency.

“We allow the community to see what we do, we’ve allowed the City Council to see what we do,” said Officer Michael Hickman, an unmanned aerial system (UAS) remote pilot with the department. “We’re not trying to hide anything, and we’re very clear that these drones are only flying when there’s a call for service. They’re not just buzzing around the city the entire time trying to find something.”

In lieu of a visual observer, with the new waiver, Fort Wayne police drones will lean into sensor technology called “obstacle avoidance” that uses cameras and sensors to detect objects in the drone’s path, giving it the ability to automatically adjust its course to avoid running into something.

Charles Werner, director of the nonprofit Drone Responders Public Safety Alliance, assisted Fort Wayne in applying for the new waiver. The organization has more than 11,000 members from 92 countries and was created to advance drone technology by allowing member organizations to share their successes and challenges, particularly with logistics like working with the FAA.

Within Drone Responders, about 50 public safety agencies are part of a specialized DFR working group. Werner said in the past many agencies struggled to get FAA approval for operations that would occur past the line of sight for a visual observer, but as technology advances that’s changing.

“We’re right at the point now where we’re starting to see the FAA really kind of opening that door up,” said Werner.

In an email to Government Technology, a FAA spokesperson said the agency continues to evolve its collaborations with public safety DFR programs. At the end of January, the agency had granted a total of 34 PSO.OS waivers. The waiver helps entities whose equipment may not qualify as public aircraft, but who protect and serve the public in matters of safety and security.

“The needs are best addressed with broader and more performance-based authorizations. These allow each operator the flexibility to implement drone operations that best suit their unique needs while maintaining the safety of the public,” said the spokesperson. “The FAA is always learning and gathering information from these operations and is planning to use the data and information to support future rulemaking activities.”

Werner believes the advancements in the way the FAA is working with public safety agencies signals a major and imminent change in public agencies drone operations in a matter of months.

“My guess is we will see the number of DFR programs increase exponentially,” he said. “Right now we’re somewhere around 40 agencies that are either in DFR or are working toward DFR, but I think you’ll see that number go from 40s to 400 in a year.”

Public agencies that are interested in joining Drone Responders can contact Werner directly at charles@droneresponders.org.