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Flock Quietly Rolls Out Surveillance Drones to Track Americans from the Sky

August 24, 2026

Reported by: SlayNews

Flock Safety has quietly launched new surveillance drones that can track and monitor the general public’s every move from the skies.

The new flying cameras are part of the company’s expansion of its controversial surveillance empire from America’s roads into the skies.

The company, already facing mounting backlash over its license plate-reading camera network, has launched a new “Drone as First Responder” program.

The program uses high-powered drones that can monitor people and vehicles from hundreds of feet in the air.

The drones are equipped with cameras capable of reading license plates from up to 2,000 feet away, according to TechSpot.

And despite growing public anger over privacy concerns surrounding Flock’s existing technology, CEO Garrett Langley says the drone business is now the company’s “fastest growing business unit right now.”

Surveillance Drones Can Fly 60 MPH

Langley discussed the program during a podcast appearance this week.

He explained that drones can be stationed on rooftops at police and fire departments before launching automatically in response to emergency calls.

The drones can fly at approximately 400 feet and travel at speeds of up to 60 mph.

Langley argued that they allow police to assess dangerous situations faster than officers traveling by road.

“Normally what would happen… is like one cop would have heard that, flip on the blue lights, race down there… and someone’s about to die,” Langley said while describing an incident involving a woman who called 911 about a man initially believed to have a gun.

The object later turned out to be a lighter.

“Instead, they launch the drone,” Langley said.

The Flock CEO claimed the technology is already making communities safer.

“We have thousands and thousands of stories like that where communities are safer now with our drones,” Langley said.

“They’re safer with our cameras.”

Hundreds of Customers Already Signed Up

A Flock spokesperson told TechSpot that approximately 200 customers are already using the company’s Drone as First Responder technology.

Those customers include police departments as well as private companies.

The expansion comes even as Flock struggles with growing opposition to its ground-based surveillance network.

Communities across the country have canceled contracts with the company, while some citizens have vandalized or obscured Flock cameras amid concerns over warrantless tracking and abuse by law enforcement.

The company has also faced criticism over cases involving officers accused of improperly using its technology to monitor private individuals.

More Than 1,000 Agencies Cleared for Automated Drone Operations

Flock’s program is part of a much broader expansion of police drone surveillance across the United States.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation warned in July that “police departments across the country are lining up to launch DFR programs.”

The digital rights group added that “hundreds have cleared a necessary hurdle toward making deployment a reality.”

According to the EFF, more than 1,000 public safety agencies had received Federal Aviation Administration waivers allowing automated drone operations as of February.

Privacy Group Warns of ‘Spy in the Sky’

The EFF has warned that airborne surveillance creates privacy risks that go far beyond traditional police patrols.

According to the group, drones can “capture footage from areas typically inaccessible to a casual patrol officer — backyards, roofs, through windows — at distances that leave subjects of surveillance completely unaware of the spy in the sky.”

That capability dramatically expands the reach of surveillance beyond public roads.

Flock’s ground cameras have already raised concerns because they can track vehicles across wide geographic areas.

Its new drones add another layer, allowing law enforcement to monitor locations that previously would have required officers, helicopters, or warrants to access.

Flock Doubles Down Despite Backlash

The company has attempted to answer criticism with new privacy controls and shorter data-retention policies.

But while Flock publicly promises stronger safeguards, it is simultaneously expanding into airborne surveillance technology capable of watching Americans from above.

The company insists the drones will help police respond faster and save lives.

Privacy advocates warn they also create the infrastructure for something far more sweeping: a surveillance network capable of following Americans not just on the road, but virtually anywhere.