The Wilmington Police Department is quietly building one of the more capable local police drone programs in North Carolina, and this week it gave WWAY3 a closer look at the aircraft helping officers respond faster and safer.
Front and center was the Avata, a compact FPV that looks more like something from a racing league than a patrol vehicle.
Small, ducted, and agile, the Avata carries a super wide 4K camera and can slip through tight indoor spaces where larger aircraft simply cannot go. For building searches and barricaded subject calls, that agility matters.
But the Avata is only one piece of Wilmington PD’s airborne toolbox.
A Fleet Built Around DJI
Most of the department’s fleet is composed of the Avata, the Matrice 4TD, and the Mavic 3, along with non DJI tethered systems used for persistent overwatch…