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The Coffee County Emergency Management Agency Committee approved a recommendation during the Dec. 31 meeting to purchase two new Skydio X-10 drones that will also be used to provide mutual aid to area first responders in addition to help perform EMA duties.   

EMA Director Allen Lendley said that with increasing threats of foreign espionage, the TBI has pushed the recently-enacted state code for first responders to use 100% domestically produced unmanned aerial vehicles (drones).   

Two of Coffee County EMA staff members have FAA drone licenses, but the agency’s current drones, while American made, include components that are not.  

The Agency’s current drone fleet would be grandfathered in under the law, but Lendley is concerned that the situation could create a “technicality” that could be challenged when prosecutors present drone data in court.     

EMA uses drones in its fire investigations and provides scene mapping for law enforcement and District Attorney investigators.

“Because drone technology is such a new thing, the federal government (is moving toward) saying it has to be American made,” Lendley said. “We don’t want to be in the business that they could throw out a homicide on a technicality. We want to make sure we are where we want to be.”

The Skydio drones will enhance the department’s capabilities by adding thermal imaging, increased wet-weather performance, increased flight time and will include anti-crash software.

Assistant Director Brandon Gunn said the TBI advocated for the law that went in effect July 1. The agency recently acquired all Skydio drones, and the brand is used predominantly by DOD, FBI and other federal agencies.

“If we take a fire scene investigation to court,” Gunn said. “We know (the defense) is going to pick it apart.”

Gunn, a licensed drone operator, said the thermal imaging would be beneficial for searching for lost personnel in a fire scene or in missing person and escaped fugitive operations.

“These can also operate in wet conditions,” he said. “We’re responsible for doing storm damage assessments, tornadoes, straight-line winds – bad weather, we’re working. Our drones currently can’t get wet.”

The Skydio drones will have the capacity to render detailed maps of crime and traffic scenes using onboard software.

According to the manufacture, the 3D Scan software “provides thousands (or millions, depending on-scene complexity) of reliable data points that can be used in accident reconstruction and forensic analysis with (the) choice of modeling software. Onboard Modeling capability provides a visual check onsite, so you can be confident you’ve captured all critical data before a scene is cleared.”   

“TBI is currently using this software and these drones,” Lendley said. “We do have letters from Manchester and Tullahoma Fire and Police … and the DA investigator recommendations for this,” Lendley said.

The request for two drones is for reduced response time with units being stored at opposite ends of the county. The cost is estimated at $20,000.

Lendley anticipates the remaining two staff members will get their FAA drone pilot license by the end of 2025.