Less than a decade ago, unmanned aerial systems (UAS) were still a developing capability in law enforcement, used selectively for missions like search and rescue, traffic crash reconstruction or tactical overwatch during high-risk incidents. As the technology matured, regulatory changes from the FAA made it easier for agencies to deploy drones, including beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS), accelerating the adoption of Drone as First Responder (DFR) programs nationwide.
Those programs have delivered meaningful gains: faster response times, better situational awareness and improved officer safety. But as public safety agencies have become more capable in the air, the skies above their communities have become more crowded. Today, law enforcement is not only responsible for the drones it deploys – but increasingly for those it does not.
Whether the pilot is a wayward hobbyist or nefarious actor, unauthorized or unidentified drones can interfere with emergency operations, compromise security and pose unknown risks at critical moments.
When airspace becomes a liability
Until recently, most agencies hadn’t considered drone detection as part of their public safety strategy. DFR programs and tactical deployments have understandably focused on the benefits of drones for first responders. But as more agencies and private operators take to the skies, the airspace above communities is becoming increasingly crowded.
In the past several years, there have been numerous contraband drops over correctional facilities and drone incursions over sports stadiums, military bases, college campuses and critical infrastructure, suspending game play and inciting fear and distrust.
In 2023, during the third quarter of a football game at the University of Illinois, a drone entered restricted airspace and hovered within roughly 10 feet of a SWAT officer positioned in overwatch, capturing images that revealed sensitive security tactics. The incident highlighted a significant vulnerability: Unauthorized drones can pose safety risks to fans and personnel while also exposing operational details that are never intended for public view. Relying on line-of-sight to visually identify the approximate area of the drone launch, 14 officers were then dispatched to locate the operator – without success.
From isolated incidents to a national pattern
Since then, the problem of drone incursions has only intensified. According to ESPN, in each of the past three seasons, the NFL has experienced more than 2,000 drone incursions over temporarily restricted airspace around its stadiums.
With several major events planned in the U.S. in 2026 – most notably the FIFA World Cup 2026 taking place in 11 cities and America250 celebrations in communities around the nation – there is intense focus on having the ability to identify drones in the airspace, understand patterns of activity to assess risk and have counter-UAS strategies in place.
“Drones are coming in all sizes and a number of small drones may be very difficult, if not impossible, for a human to detect, even visually within a quarter of a mile,” said James Wolfinbarger, MSSSI vice president, Drone and C-UAS at Motorola Solutions. “While I would say the vast majority of drone flights are benign and probably recreational – unless they’re in a restricted airspace – you still need a sense of awareness of the drones in the sky, where they’re at and some understanding of their pattern of behavior.”
While some of these incursions were accidental and others resolved without making headlines, they illustrate a growing risk: Not every drone in the sky has good intentions, and the consequences of one undetected drone could be disastrous.
Each incursion, whether benign or malicious, requires verification, coordination and, in some cases, suspension of operations – pulling attention and resources away from primary security responsibilities.
Most agencies have been unable to detect, identify or distinguish authorized drones from anomalous ones – until now.
A new strategic alliance between Motorola Solutions and SkySafe aims to close that intelligence gap by giving public safety agencies the ability not only to deploy drones – but to detect and identify those they don’t control.
Extending DFR with airspace intelligence
SkySafe’s technology helps agencies distinguish between known, authorized flights and unknown or suspicious activity.
“The law enforcement community did such a phenomenal job in embracing drones as a first responder, giving people a leg up in terms of having eyes in the sky and quicker visibility to potential threats,” said Melissa Swisher, chief revenue strategy officer at SkySafe. “However, the challenge with drones as first responder is that it’s limited by how far the drones can go and what they can see with camera detection.”
SkySafe extends DFR using a network of radio frequency (RF) sensors to detect signals from drones and their operators, collecting metadata such as make, model and manufacturer (remote ID). Ill-intentioned drones won’t necessarily emit a remote ID, so SkySafe captures additional information like the drone serial number, operator location, home point location and other information that lives above and beyond what just remote ID offers.
In addition, SkySafe can piece together historical data to determine the drone’s flight patterns to help determine if it’s a known entity like a commercial real estate company filming an area or an engineering firm doing a crane inspection or if it’s an unknown operator.
“What really starts to separate us is our ability to back load that information in terms of what we’re going to detect as well as any sort of historical data, so if we do pick up a drone that’s been in the area or had any other flight runs, we’ll be able to give that information to law enforcement with all of the different drone flights it’s taken, that historical data, what those points were,” said Swisher. “So it starts to really give people an understanding of any sort of threat patterns that might be emerging as well as produce prosecutor-ready evidence reports if they need it.”
Together, those capabilities give agencies three critical advantages: real-time awareness, historical context and evidentiary documentation.
“Something SkySafe does exceptionally well is to help a jurisdiction understand what types of routine traffic are occurring and what the outliers are so you can tell more quickly what is anomalous and maybe you want to put some eyes on,” said Wolfinbarger. “It doesn’t mean there’s a particular problem, but to be able to put an eye on it, understand it and have a rapid and hasty assessment of where the operator of the drone is physically located or who they are is incredibly important as a part of a unified command center.”
“Motorola Solutions and SkySafe can come together to provide that detection identification,” said Swisher. “We can track all those different drones as well as decrypt any drones that might fall, so it really creates a whole airspace intelligence level.”
Integrating airspace intelligence into real-time command
The combination of SkySafe’s drone detection and airspace intelligence tools and Motorola Solutions’ CommandCentral Aware real-time command platform means agencies can visualize and act on drone data like any other intelligence feed. Operators can view authorized drones, identify unknown ones and even link detections to live incidents.
Imagine an officer presses an emergency button on their radio, triggering an alert in the real-time crime center. The operator immediately sees the officer’s location and dispatches a nearby drone. With SkySafe integrated, the operator can also verify that no unauthorized drones are operating nearby – ensuring a safer perimeter for responding units.
This kind of connected awareness supports more informed decisions, faster response times and greater overall safety for both officers and the public. It also reduces confusion in situations where multiple drones may be operating simultaneously – such as during large events, search-and-rescue operations or natural disasters.
“A very robust and comprehensive situational awareness platform like CommandCentral Aware provides those agencies access to the tools within a common operating picture that gives them a much more robust and full view of what the threats are,” said Wolfinbarger.
Drone detection as a service, not a burden
This capability isn’t just for large metropolitan departments; it’s scalable and attainable for smaller agencies that need to protect their jurisdictions without adding complexity.
“This strategic alliance between Motorola Solutions and SkySafe creates a very attainable capability for any jurisdiction by lowering the barrier of entry and providing drone detection as a service as well as postevent forensics,” said Wolfinbarger. “We’re simplifying drone detection through a service model that allows it to be implemented by any agency regardless of size.”
Building an airspace-aware ecosystem
The SkySafe alliance is just one piece of Motorola Solutions’ expanding vision for connected operations. Recent collaborations with companies like BRINC, whose drones integrate seamlessly with CommandCentral Aware, extend that vision from ground response to autonomous aerial support.
Together, these partnerships illustrate a comprehensive approach: from detecting potential threats to deploying drones for response to managing the flow of data through the real-time command center. It’s a full-circle view of the airspace – detection, analysis, action and accountability – all within a single, unified ecosystem.
Preparing for a safer, smarter future
As drones proliferate in public and private airspace, law enforcement must focus not just on using drone technology but on maintaining awareness of all aerial activity over an incident or major event. Detection and identification ensure drones enhance safety rather than create vulnerabilities.
With SkySafe integrated into the Motorola Solutions ecosystem, agencies gain real‑time visibility into who is flying, why and whether a flight poses a risk. This unified drone detection and airspace intelligence – on the ground and in the air – helps agencies respond faster, operate more safely and better protect communities during the major events of 2026 and beyond.
For more information, visit Motorola Solutions.
