Cincinnati’s Police department has launched a drone program featuring expensive Skydio drones to strengthen public safety and tackle rising crime, aiming to cover 90% of the city by the end of 2025. Announced on June 24, 2025, by Police Chief Teresa Theetge, the initiative uses unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to assist investigations, manage traffic incidents, and support a task force targeting youth crime, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer. The high cost of these Blue sUAS drones, however, poses budgetary challenges. The drone unit, with one supervisor and four officers, will expand in July 2025 to cover 90% of Cincinnati’s 80 square miles by year-end. At a Juneteenth block party at The Banks, a Skydio drone with a spotlight and audio commands dispersed a disorderly crowd. “With the drone, within seconds, a drone can be up, over there, telling us what’s going on and saving an officer a trip,” Theetge said. Matching those used by the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office, these Skydio drones offer a 45 mph top speed, 40-minute flight time, and zoom and thermal cameras for real-time monitoring. Cincinnati’s Skydio drones are part of the Pentagon’s Blue sUAS program, launched in 2020 to reduce reliance on Chinese technology. These drones cost 8 to 14 times more than Chinese-made DJI or Autel models, per a government memo cited by DroneXL. High costs have limited Blue sUAS drone purchases, reducing operational capacity. These drones offer less flexibility for non-military tasks and often include Chinese components, compromising cybersecurity objectives and exposing First Responders to supply chain constraints.

Full report : Cincinnati Police Deploy Expensive Skydio Drones to Enhance Public Safety by 2025.

For more see the OODA Company Profile on Skydio.