Florida officials are determining which districts should take part in a new pilot program bringing armed drones to schools, according to state records obtained by News 6.
The program — Campus Guardian Angel, based in Texas — aims to use non-lethal drones to help take down school shooters, should a school be confronted with one.
According to the group’s website, the drones are kept on-site using charging pads at the schools, and they can be flown remotely by the team’s members during an emergency response.
“Most victims are shot within two minutes,” the website reads. “Our drones can confront the shooter in 15 seconds, and buy the time for law enforcement to get on scene.”
That being said, the officials behind the program also note that the drones are armed with several tools, including pepper spray balls, flash bangs and sirens — but no lethal weaponry. This means no firearms that shoot bullets.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis approved over $550,000 in funding for the program as part of the state’s latest budget, and now, the state’s Department of Education is set to select three schools to participate in the program.
[BELOW: Campus Guardian Angel demonstrates takedown by armed drones]
The Campus Guardian Angel program says the drones are able to cross an entire high school campus in eight seconds, making their response time even faster than an officer on foot.
“Our drones cruise at 30-50 mph inside the building and sprint 100 mph outside,” the website states. “We place multiple boxes of six drones at locations throughout the school ahead of time, so we can select the closest box to the shooter and get there faster.”
[BELOW: Watch the Campus Guardian Angel drones take flight]
The biggest benefit here, the group claims, is that the drones mitigate risk for law enforcement officers and students during school shootings.
“Our drones go ahead of law enforcement officers, clearing corners and rooms like a police dog,” the website continues. “We can take more time in confirming the shooter’s identity because we’re willing to get shot at, and all the effects we bring are less lethal.”
[BELOW: Watch a mock demonstration of the drones clearing out classrooms]
A representative for Campus Guardian Angel told News 6 on Tuesday that the service will be deployed “in the near future,” though no specifics have been provided at this time.