Montgomery County revamps, expands police drone program

Twelve new lighter, faster drones will expand coverage and operational efficiency, officials say

July 15, 2026 11:57 a.m.

A Montgomery County Police Department Skydio drone sits on its dock. Photo credit: Danny Fung-A-Chung

This summer, the Montgomery County Police Department is updating its Drone as First Responder program, swapping its older, heavier drones for lighter, faster ones that use docking stations.

The police department announced the updates in early July, calling the changes a “major enhancement” in a news release. Police say that the drones, developed by California-based security company Skydio, will expand the geographic area covered by police drones in Montgomery County, increase the overall number of drones available, improve coordination with the county’s joint operations center, and expand operational days and hours.

County and police officials held a press conference on Tuesday afternoon at the Montgomery County Police Headquarters in Gaithersburg to discuss the updated program and tout the benefits. Officials are calling the updated program DFR 2.0.

County Executive Marc Elrich (D), who has long been supportive of the county police using the technology, said Tuesday at the press conference that the update to the drone program was an “important technology step” for the police department, noting the advantage of Skydio’s dock-based system.

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The docking system allows drones to be dispatched and land without staff present to launch them. When not in use, the drones sit and charge on the dock and are ready for launch. The drones are remotely flown by staff located at the county’s Joint Public Safety Operations Center in Gaithersburg, officials said.

Elrich praised the department for “embracing technology” to improve policing, especially while the agency continues to face staffing shortages. “As we try to rebuild the department size, which is a priority of ours, it’s good to know the department’s been looking at ways of enhancing protection for our residents,” Elrich said.

A Skydio drone dock closed. A drone sits under the hood. Photo credit: Danny Fung-A-Chung
The Skydio drone sits charging on a dock until it is launched for a call for service. Personnel at the county’s Joint Public Safety Operations Center in Gaithersburg remotely fly the drones. Photo credit: Danny Fung-A-Chung

Police Chief Marc Yamada also attended Tuesday’s news conference. Noting the “enhancements” to the program, Yamada said the changes are centered on “getting our first responders the most accurate information faster, so that they can make safer and more informed decisions.”

The police department launched its Drone as First Responder program in 2023, with the downtown Silver Spring, downtown Bethesda, Wheaton, Gaithersburg and Montgomery Village areas each having a drone. Under the previous program, county police had four DJI Matrice drones in use at a time and several backup drones, according to Capt. Tony Galladora, the director of MCPD’s operational intelligence division. Now, the county has six locations with two dock-based drones each, bringing the county’s total police drone fleet to 12.

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“These dock-based drones allow us to have drones that are fully ready, mission capable, charged, and ready to deploy at a moment’s notice,” Galladora said Tuesday at the news conference.

The new Skydio drones can fly for up to 40 minutes on one charge, up to 400 feet above ground level and at speeds up to 45 mph. According to Galladora, the previous drones were heavier and flew at a maximum speed of 30 mph.

A map of Montgomery County police’s Drone as First Responder launch sites. Photo credit: Elia Griffin

County police have already replaced most of its older drones with new ones in downtown Silver Spring, White Oak, the Gaithersburg and Montgomery Village area, Germantown and Wheaton. The department expects to complete the setup of the dock-based drone system in downtown Bethesda sometime this summer, Galladora said.

Having two drones at each site also allows for extended operation time, the ability to deploy two drones at the same time, and respond to multiple incidents at once. The new operational hours for the drone program will be from noon to midnight, seven days a week, in comparison to five days a week. To staff the program, the department has hired three civilian staff members who will be full-time drone pilots and work in the joint operations center, according to Galladora.

In addition to being able to fly faster and lower to the ground than the previous drones, the new ones are equipped with thermal imaging cameras and a spotlight that can be used during calls for service at night, according to Galladora.

The view from above tells a different story. 🐦‍⬛

From thermal imaging to tracking suspects on the move, here's another look at how MCPD's Drone as First Responder (DFR) program supports officers on the ground.#MCPNews #MCPD #DroneZone #DFR pic.twitter.com/oGciqBf0zZ
— Montgomery County Department of Police (@mcpnews) July 7, 2026

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County police highlighted the use of the new drones in a “Drone Zone” social media video earlier this month that showed several incidents in which the drones responded.

In one such incident, the drone’s spotlight dispersed a group of people throwing rocks at a moving train near Wisteria Drive in Germantown.

County and police officials also emphasized that while they are using a new system and new drones, they continued to be sensitive to privacy concerns surrounding drones and their usage in the county. According to Galladora, like the previous drones, the new ones do not use facial recognition technology and are not equipped with a microphone.

Officials also emphasized that the drones are only used for calls for service corresponding with a 911 call.

“The drone’s not out there looking. It’s not like it’s patrolling,” Elrich said. “What people worry about is if this is going to be used to identify people who may or may not be doing something. This is in response to specific calls about a specific problem.”

Galladora also noted that county police have partnered with the University of South Carolina on a study of its flight log and calls for service data related to the Drone as First Responder program. While the report is not complete, Galladora shared some early results of the review Tuesday.

Preliminarily, county police drones are on scene of an incident about 75% of the time before an officer arrives, Galladora said Tuesday.

Galladora also noted that about 15% to 20% of all calls for service are handled remotely by officers working in the drone room. He noted that those cases “clear an officer from on the ground from actually having to respond to that call to begin with.”

“This is a great efficiency for us,” Galladora said. “And helps us preserve our resources where they’re needed the most.”

Cpl. Dave Root flies the new Skydio drone outside of the Montgomery County Public Safety Headquarters in Gaithersburg on July 14. Photo credit: Elia Griffin

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Originally published at Bethesdamagazine