Schools Test Nonlethal Drones to Counter Active Shooters
Pilot programs in Florida, Georgia and Colorado deploy pepper-spraying drones designed to disrupt armed threats before police arrive.
- By Jesse Jacobs
- July 28, 2026
Public school districts and charter campuses across Florida, Georgia and Colorado are integrating a remote-piloted drone defense system designed to intervene during active-shooter incidents.
Developed by Austin-based Mithril Defense, the Campus Guardian Angel system places nonlethal, plastic aircraft inside secure storage boxes located on school grounds. When an emergency alert is triggered via a staff mobile app or physical panic button, professional remote pilots deploy the aircraft through building hallways.
The aircraft reach speeds up to 60 mph and are capable of breaching glass windows, emitting strobe lights and sirens, deploying pepper gel or physically impacting an intruder. According to company officials, the system aims to reach a threat within 15 seconds of activation to fill the operational window before law enforcement officers arrive on scene.
Initial field tests and public demonstrations of the technology took place at Deltona High School in Volusia County, Florida, following $557,000 in state pilot funding. Florida officials approved an additional $564,000 to extend testing across additional district sites, including Boyd H. Anderson High School near Fort Lauderdale and Godby High School in Tallahassee.
Simultaneously, Georgia lawmakers allocated approximately $500,000 to launch pilot installations across five campuses, evaluating performance in schools both with and without stationed school resource officers. In Colorado, John Adams Academy in Sterling Ranch selected the technology for its K-12 campus.
To expand operational readiness and tactical integration, Mithril Defense partnered with security training firm Proventus to utilize the 25,000-square-foot ARROW Center facility in Jonesboro, Arkansas, as a national demonstration and drone pilot certification hub.
The adoption of autonomous and remote-piloted defense systems has drawn scrutiny from safety experts and advocacy groups, according to reporting by The Washington Post. Security consultants have raised concerns regarding potential misidentification of subjects in high-stress environments, while gun violence prevention advocates argue funding should prioritize primary prevention strategies rather than reactive hardware.
Participating state agencies plan to evaluate system performance by measuring threat response times, analyzing incident data and conducting safety surveys among staff, students and parents.