OCEANSIDE — The city is moving forward with the purchase of two new drones, costing nearly $700,000, for the Police Department to use as first responders following a successful yearlong pilot program.
The City Council approved a 13-month drones-as-first-responders pilot program in April 2025. The program officially launched last August and is nearing its conclusion.
Over the past year, the drone has used City Hall as a launch site to respond to approximately 1,300 calls for service. Of those responses, about 392 were resolved without officers responding to the scene.
The drone averaged a 1-minute, 49-second response time and often arrived at scenes faster than officers on the ground.
At the Sept. 16 council meeting, Police Capt. Nick Nuñez said the drone has helped locate missing people, assist with water rescues, locate stolen vehicles and direct ground officers during pursuits.
“We feel like this trial period has been extremely successful for us,” Nuñez said.
According to the Oceanside Police Department, its drones are unarmed, used during routine patrols, used for neighborhood surveillance or intended to replace officers.
Police Chief Taurino Valdovinos explained that the drones’ cameras point toward the horizon as they respond to calls for service to avoid recording normal activity. He also noted that access to recorded video is tightly controlled and that it is never shared with outside agencies or used for immigration response.
Oceanside sworn police officers who are Federal Aviation Administration-certified pilots fly the drones.
The council unanimously approved a five-year contract with Axon Enterprise to purchase two Skydio drones for up to approximately $682,000 in a 4-0 vote. Councilmember Peter Weiss was absent.
One drone will remain stationed at City Hall to respond to calls in the western portion of the city. The Police Department is currently looking for an appropriate launch site in the eastern portion of the city.
