SkyFire Launches the SF2, a US-Made Drone for Public Safety

Skyfire recently launched a drone created specifically for public safety applications.

Called the SF2, the new drone is made in the US, can carry multiple payloads, and has a tough, resilient design for work in harsh environments.

Credit: Skyfire

The SF2 is made with carbon fiber and aerospace-grade aluminum, materials that will help it endure the tough operating scenarios found in public safety work.

It also has a folding boom configuration, allowing you to carry it in a backpack or lightweight case for quick and easy deployment.

Here are the key specs for the SF2:

• Weight—10 pounds.
• Maximum payload—14 pounds.
• Flight time—45 minutes.
• Maximum speed—55 mph.
• Maximum transmission range—six miles.

Drawing from Over Ten Years of Work with Public Safety Agencies

Skyfire is in a unique position as a drone manufacturer.

Since opening over a decade ago, the company has primarily been focused on providing consulting services for public safety agencies looking to build drone programs.

Their work has covered everything drone-related a public safety agency might need, from navigating the COA process, to building in-house training programs, to finding the best UAVs for each agency’s specific needs.

Skyfire has taken its nearly ten years of public safety UAS experience and used feedback from hundreds of clients to design SF2 into an aircraft made specifically for the unpredictable conditions seen by first responders.

– Matt Sloane, Founder and CEO of Skyfire

Just how experienced is Skyfire when it comes to public safety?

They helped the Chula Vista Police Department—arguably the top police department drone program in the U.S., if not the world—create their Drone as First Responder program.

The Drone as First Responder Program deploys a drone automatically to the scene of 911 calls, providing aerial data as officers travel to the scene so they can have the benefit of situational awareness before arriving. This aerial data helps officers better respond when they arrive to a scene, helps them avoid getting ambushed, and helps them apprehend fleeing suspects.

Skyfire also helped the Chula Vista PD obtain its first BVLOS (Beyond Visual Line of Sight) waiver back in 2019, a key permission needed for the Drone as First Responder Program to be a success.

Credit: Chula Vista Police Department

A few years ago we interviewed Matt Sloane, the founder and CEO of Skyfire, when we were writing an in-depth series on the American Security Drone Act (ASDA).

At the time, Skyfire had just acquired a small US drone company called Viking UAS. We wanted to know whether Sloane thought there were any US drone companies that could replace DJI for public safety agency needs, in the unlikely event that the USDA led to a blanket ban on DJI drones.

But Sloane told us that US drone companies didn’t need to take on DJI in the public safety sector—instead, they were focused on making highly tailored UAVs built on spec for individual public safety agencies (something DJI doesn’t offer).

With this approach, he could make the exact drone an agency wanted. If a fire department was looking for a drone with specific features, he could build it to spec, and he could do it for a competitive price.

In the SF2, Skyfire has taken all of this experience building drones for police departments, fire departments, and other first responders, as well as its consulting experience, and made a drone designed to be flexible and rugged enough to fit their different needs.

Credit: Skyfire

In addition to public safety applications, the SF2 is also made for critical sector missions.

The first reseller for the SF2 is Darley Robotics Solutions, a company with lots of experience in the public safety sector as well as a long history of working with the DOD (Department of Defense).

Large Array of Payload Options

One of the most striking things about the new SF2 is the number of different payloads it can carry.

The FLIR Duo Pro R

Here’s a list of payload options for the SF2:

• FLIR Duo Pro R
• FLIR Vue Pro R
• Sony R10C
• Sony QX1
• MicaSense RedEdge MX1
• Sony RXO I and II
• Sony RX 100
• Black Magic BMCCC
• Workswell Wiris Pro
• Wiris Agro R

Despite this long list provided by Skyfire, the company has said that the SF2 is actually payload-agnostic, meaning it can actually carry whatever type of payload you like.

All of this payload flexibility makes the SF2 a versatile tool for a number of applications—including public safety and critical sector missions, and probably a lot more.