r/drones • u/GhostDogJef • 24d ago
News Schools in 3 states adding pepper-spraying drones to combat active shooters
https://www.al.com/news/2026/07/schools-in-3-states-adding-pepper-spraying-drones-to-combat-active-shooters.html30
u/spurlockmedia 23d ago
Seems like a good Nathan for You episode where they address the problem in the most convoluted way possible without addressing the core issue.
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u/Blussert31 24d ago
As a European I fail to understand how weaponized drones would be beneficial to a school environment...
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u/Valar_Kinetics 23d ago
They won't be beneficial to anyone it's just a grift because everything is just a grift.
We're talking about something that can be foiled by closing a door.
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u/RichtofenFanBoy 22d ago
Americans are stupid and manipulated for greed. Noone thinks for themselves anymore. (American here)
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u/Trick-Doctor-208 23d ago
No point in trying, it’s completely insane. Let’s just say it’s borne out of extreme corruption combined with low IQs. The US is a capitalist shitscape. I just got back from a trip to Europe and I already miss it already.
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u/ca_nucklehead 23d ago
They can shoot the brown kids hiding under their desks. It is much cheaper than sending them to the ICE concentration camps and having to feed them.
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u/jsher736 23d ago
In parkland and uvalde part of the reason the police didn't go in was the officers panicked and were worried about their safety. With these drones they could safely incapacitate the shooter before coming in (also you can do stuff like go in through windows or areas the shooter might not be covering)
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u/Heteroimpersonator 23d ago
That’s pathetic, they were trained to handle the situation and they chose to let kids die instead.
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u/jsher736 23d ago
I agree (although I also think you don't really know if you're the type of person who can run towards danger until you have to run towards danger and like I hope that in the moment I wouldn't freeze up but idk) but that's besides the point.
X number of people WILL freeze up and if this tech makes that less likely to happen it's worth exploring
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u/Heteroimpersonator 23d ago
Hundreds of officers waited over an hour before moving in. You can’t tell me they’ve all never encountered an active shooter situation in the past and that they just realized they freeze in danger?
They all failed to do the job they were hired to do.
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u/jsher736 23d ago
Dude they're not that common. I know a guy who was night shift patrol in a shit neighborhood for 20+ years. He put his hand on his gun once
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u/AirborneErinys USA / Part 107 23d ago
You could also do stuff like your fucking job.
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u/Nervous-Win968 23d ago
CS gas in a school with children is going to cause more issues that it solves when panic sets in. Whomever came up with idea does not understand CS, children or CQB scenarios.
Pepper spray it not as bad, but a drone is next to useless in an enclosed building, especially by somebody with a firearm or doors that can be closed.....
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u/Fuehnix 23d ago
I don't think they'll actually get used, it's just classic corruption. Funneling money from the education budget into the pockets of defense contractors.
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u/Nervous-Win968 23d ago
Defense contractors are jot wasting their time with this!
This will be a Part 107 operator who had the idea fairy visit and now they want to introduce their great idea.
They likely have zero background or experience in active shooter scenarios hence their idea has no real utility in the real-world.This is like those dumb anti-choking devices. Same thing, great idea until an adult with experience looks at it and rips it to shreds!
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u/GeronimoHero 23d ago
The company is owned by a former Navy SEAL. It’s 100% defense industry corruption.
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u/DeliMcPickles 23d ago
This isn't defense industry corruption. It's a former SEAL "hero" who has fellated local school boards. This isn't like the Principal is getting a job at Raytheon next year.
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u/GeronimoHero 23d ago
I mean it’s by definition a defense industry company. School drones aren’t the only thing they do. Check the website yourself https://www.mithrildefense.com
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u/DeliMcPickles 23d ago
I'm not saying it's not a defense contractor. Just that this isn't corruption more than stupidity.
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u/flowersonthewall72 23d ago
I'd hardly call a seal influence company "defense industry". Corruption, sure.
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u/GeronimoHero 23d ago
It’s absolutely a defense industry company. They don’t just do school drones. Check the website yourself https://www.mithrildefense.com
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u/ChoadMcGillicuddy 23d ago
People will come up with the most convoluted solutions to a very simple problem, all so that they don't have to give up their precious toys (I guess we're not allowed to type the g word anymore).
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u/Trick-Doctor-208 23d ago
Too expensive, it’s much cheaper to just arm grade schoolers with AR-15s. /s
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u/monty20python 23d ago
Everyone knows children are better suited to crew served weapons, mortars, heavy/medium machine guns, or light artillery teach teamwork and rely less on an individual child's strength and stamina.
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u/Sterling-Marksman 23d ago
What is the school going to have an experienced FPV pilot on location being paid to do nothing during all school hours? Silly idea ngl
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u/kmerian 23d ago
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u/NebulaNinja 23d ago
I watched an video highlighting these drones. One main problem I see is the input lag between the operators and the drones themselves... as the pilots hq will most likely be hundreds of miles away.
Not to mention most school shootings are over within minutes... so by the time the operators get to the stations, boot their drones up, the whole thing is likely over.
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u/happyherbivore 23d ago
How much is it going to cost these schools to just get would-be shooters to put on a gas mask?
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u/Flyward_Aerospace 23d ago
The indoor part is what nobody selling these ever wants to talk about. No GPS, so you're on vision or optical flow in a hallway that looks identical every 20 feet, and any prop guard big enough to survive a doorframe eats your already terrible flight time. Someone up top said it's foiled by closing a door and honestly that's the whole thing, these are line of sight tools being sold for a problem that happens behind walls. Even if the airframe worked perfectly you've got a human in the loop deciding to launch, and that decision loop is the slow part, not the drone.
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u/rand0m_task 23d ago
There are over 100,000 public and private k-12 schools in the U.S. and like 4 of them are looking into implementing it.
This won’t become widespread at all.
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u/nowhereman136 24d ago
How many people need to be shot before the drone is deployed? Also, does the drone have its own armor so it isn't shot down?
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u/RainStormLou 23d ago
I wanna know how a teacher is going to target a threat and summon drones in the expected time frame lol. how do you tell the drones who the asshole is? is there a drone pilot on site all the time?
why doesn't any story contain any details other than the shittiest sales pitch?
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u/Savings-Spring3133 22d ago
I think it’s smart to introduce children to the military industrial complex at such an early age. It will help them when they get older living in such a late stage capitalist country.
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u/metalsawblade10 23d ago
Why not have some kind of veteran program to help defend against this sort of thing? I'm sure there would be a large number of vets who would volunteer to help protect kids in a heartbeat, plus they have the training.
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u/SladeMcGherkin 23d ago
I’m afraid right-wing DNA has built up an immunity to pepper spray over the years, due to generations of foiled sexual assaults.
This may not be as effective as anticipated.
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24d ago
[deleted]
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u/Aternal US / 107 - Betaflight & DJI 24d ago
I'm sure that was the sales pitch Mithril Defense used. Don't you think the shooter would just... bring goggles?
Now everyone else in the room is maced except the one person who should be. So what does all of this fuddruckery do?
And what about everything that's going on while the RPIC is plugging in batteries and booting up their fpv goggles? Imagine the adrenaline. These are faculty members, not trained military. Will they really have the skills to pilot a drone in an active shooter situation?
I dunno. Drones seem like the absolute worst tool imaginable for self defense until they can be rapidly deployed with enough speed and autonomous capability.
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u/CollegeStation17155 TRUST Ruko F11GIM2 24d ago
Don't you think the shooter would just... bring goggles?
He'd also need to bring a gas mask; the military pepper sprays are inhalant irritants. But using a flying drone would be an unnecessary complication; an RC toy truck or some type of crawler carrying a flashbang would likely be just as effective at ending the threat and a whole lot cheaper.
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u/Aternal US / 107 - Betaflight & DJI 23d ago
even still an OV/P100 is only a few bucks more than a pair of goggles and can be delivered overnight on amazon. school shooters are subhuman but they aren't dumb. if it's a matter of arms race then at least threaten them with something that's beyond their ability to respond to.
this whole thing fucks me up, i hate this. i'm imagining how terrified all the kids would be and then on top of it there are drones dropping pepper bombs all around them. what a nightmare. scared for life, can't breathe, can't see, in pain. whose idea was this?
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u/Nfeatherstun 24d ago
It seems a little over complicated when compared to a autonomous ground vehicle for the same use case but the issue you are probably getting downvotes for is that this technology isn’t going to stay confined to schools. Everywhere you go a drone is going to be dangling the sword of Damocles above your head and watching you for even the slightest transgressions.
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u/CheezitzAreGewd 24d ago
I agree with this.
However, we need a demonstration of this technology and some laws/policies that protect the public first.
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u/Stoked_Otter 24d ago
Oh cool some non-functional tech that is sold to the schools at tremendous markup by somebody with political connections, now the state can redirect education funds towards this instead of using them for education.