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The St. Cloud Police Department has become the first in Central Florida to implement a fully autonomous “Drone as First Responder” (DFR) program, according to AirMed&Rescue. It is a move that highlights the soaring cost of public safety compliance under Florida’s strict new anti-China drone laws.
While the program promises to reduce response times, it comes with a staggering $890,000 price tag over five years, a premium largely driven by the state-mandated shift to domestic manufacturers like Skydio.
To put that cost in perspective: a comparable DFR setup using DJI enterprise drones would cost roughly $150,000 to $250,000 over the same period. Florida agencies are now paying anywhere from 3 to 14 times more for Blue sUAS alternatives that independent testing shows fail more frequently, according to a leaked Department of Interior memo obtained by the Financial Times…