New Brinc drones for Newport Beach, California
The US city of Newport Beach has approved the acquisition of seven police drones from Brinc under a US$2.176 million, five-year contract
The new remotely piloted aircraft will support the creation of Newport Beach Police Department’s new drone program.
In addition to the drones, the contract includes a set of charging stations, all necessary software, and other startup expenses. It also includes options for the city to upgrade its drones to the latest models in the third and fifth years of the agreement.
The fleet includes six of Brinc’s Responder aircraft, which are designed for drone-as-first-responder (DFR) operations. Five of them will be spread out across the city for rapid dispatch by the department’s new Crime Information Center. The sixth will be set aside for use by patrol officers.
The seventh drone is a LEMUR 2, and will be used for crisis negotiations and SWAT operations. It is capable of entering buildings and confined spaces, and is equipped with night vision and thermal imaging cameras. It can also create 3D floor plans of buildings.
Ramapo Police Department, in the US state of New York, recently announced the launch of its own DFR program.
Oliver Cuenca
Oliver Cuenca is a Junior Editor at AirMed&Rescue. He was previously a News and Features Journalist for the rail magazine IRJ until 2021, and studied MA Magazine Journalism at Cardiff University. His favourite helicopter is the AW169 – the workhorse of the UK air ambulance sector! He also led the creation of Waypoint: The AirMed&Rescue podcast, serving as its Production Editor and co-host.