CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA – The Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office is planning a major expansion of its drone program, with more than $200,000 in new drones listed among the agency’s planned 2026 purchases, according to a newly released annual military equipment report.
The drone spending is part of a much larger equipment plan. The Sheriff’s Office expects to spend about $1.27 million on new “military equipment” in 2026, including a BearCat armored rescue vehicle, a Boston Dynamics SPOT tactical robot, new drones, less-lethal launchers, rifles, suppressors, PepperBall systems, impact munitions, flashbangs, smoke devices, breaching rounds, and chemical agents.
The drone-related line items include more than $200,000 in new drones, plus a separate $64,000 line item for Skydio drones, according to a summary of the report.
Why Drones Count as “Military Equipment”
Under California law, “military equipment” does not only mean tanks, armored vehicles, or military surplus. Government Code Section 7070 specifically includes “unmanned, remotely piloted, powered aerial or ground vehicles” in the definition — which means drones fall under the state’s public reporting and oversight rules…