Already Conducting Experiments With Aircraft It Hopes To Deploy Over Orlando

The Orange County Sheriff in central Florida is testing two UAVs that it hopes to have flying over the Metro Orlando area by this summer, but the FAA has not yet given a green light for their deployment.

Sheriff's spokesman Jeff Williamson told the Orlando Sentinel that the aircraft under evaluation by the department have a three- to four-foot wingspan, but would not say much more about the aircraft, and would not allow them to be photographed. He did tell the paper that they would not be armed, but also would not elaborate on their potential missions.

UAVs are also being tested by the Miami-Dade police department. The Polk County, FL, Sheriff's Office also evaluated unmanned aircraft, but determined they were too expensive for the department at the current time.

Williamson said that the drones being tested in Orange county cost between $22,000 and $25,000 each. He tried to address privacy issues in an e-mail, saying that the department has privacy as a "foremost concern."

Florida Republican State Senator Joe Negron from Stuart, FL, has introduced a bill for the upcoming legislative session that would limit the use of UAVs to certain situations, such as the federal government saying there is the imminent danger of a terrorist attack, in hostage situations, or only after a judge issues a search warrant. USA Today reports that nine other states are considering such legislation.

Before seeking approval from the FAA to fly the UAVs, the Orange County Sheriff would have to have the blessing of the Orange County Commission. No date has been set for the Sheriff to make his pitch to the Commission for the authority to go to the FAA.

FMI: www.ocso.com, www.ocfl.ne