DRONERESPONDERS gave attendees an inside look at this year's Public Safety Summit programming during a webinar hosted by Commercial UAV News, covering the organization's new Program Managers Course, an expanded counter-UAS panel, and the upcoming presentation of the Eric Talley Memorial Award. The Public Safety Summit is part of the conference program at Commercial UAV Expo 2026, taking place September 1-3 at Caesars Forum in Las Vegas.
Jason Day, Deputy Director of DRONERESPONDERS and Director of Unmanned Aircraft at the Texas Department of Public Safety, led the session alongside Matt Rowland, a retired sergeant with the Fort Wayne Police Department and the 2025 recipient of the Eric Talley Award. Day spent 10 years building the Texas DPS drone program, now the largest public safety UAS operation in the country with roughly 400 aircraft, 400 operators, and about 50,000 flights a year. Rowland was a founding member of the Fort Wayne drone team in 2017 and helped launch its Drone as First Responder program before retiring last month to join the private sector as a training specialist.
Below you can find a recap of just some of the conversation during the webinar. An on-demand recording of the full webinar is available with a free registration.
In the discussion, Day pointed to the pace of beyond visual line of sight waiver approvals as evidence of the relationship between DRONERESPONDERS and the FAA, and connecting other organizations along the way, paying off. Agencies now receive hundreds of BVLOS and drone first responder waivers per week, up from only a few hundred issued across all of 2025.
DRONERESPONDERS built the new, two-day Program Managers Course after a 2025 survey identified training as the biggest gap in public safety UAS operations. The course walks through building, sustaining, and scaling a program, including developing missions and operational profiles, setting up safety management systems and incident reporting, building internal training programs, navigating Part 107 waivers and certificates of authorization, and planning for long-term funding and return on investment.
Rowland will co-teach the course alongside DRONERESPONDERS training program manager Terry Smith, a current firefighter who brings additional operational experience to the sessions. Day said the same content has resonated outside public safety, noting he recently taught the course to energy sector operators managing critical infrastructure.
Feedback from past summits pushed DRONERESPONDERS to expand its counter-UAS and drone detection panel from a single hour to a two-part, two-hour session. The panel will cover how the FBI is scaling mitigation authority and will draw on lessons learned from securing FIFA World Cup matches, drawing on speakers including Robert Dooley of the Florida Highway Patrol and DJ Smith, formerly of the Virginia State Police.
A separate advanced air mobility panel will bring together representatives from Wing, Zipline, Amazon, ONRA, and Drone Sense to discuss how public safety flights can be prioritized within the broader UTM ecosystem alongside commercial drone delivery traffic.
Firefighting applications will also receive dedicated attention, with speaker Matt Dargin of the FDNY addressing how his department is managing drones, counter-UAS, and emerging air-taxi testing in New York City as part of a single integrated program.
The Eric Talley Memorial Award, which recognizes outstanding contributions to public safety UAS integration and leadership, will again be presented during the day one keynote. Rowland, last year's recipient, asked to help present the award this year and will also join a panel on drone first responder operations.
Rowland said the recognition carries added weight because award sponsors direct their support to the recipient. Past sponsor contributions have included training equipment such as a mannequin from 2D Dummies and Part 107 training slots for team members still working toward certification.
Attendees used the Q&A section at the end of the webinar to ask about hands-on training, grant funding, and regulatory definitions. Day and Rowland clarified that the Summit will offer classroom instruction only, but said DRONERESPONDERS staff will be available on the show floor for direct conversations about training options. On funding, Day said the course covers the pros and cons of grant funding without pointing to specific programs, since mechanisms vary by state.
A question about which drones would be approved for a Part 108 BVLOS waiver prompted Day to note that the FAA does not approve specific aircraft. Instead, the agency evaluates operational concepts against airspace and ground safety, while separate FCC restrictions govern which manufacturers' drones agencies can purchase going forward. Day added that Part 108 rulemaking remains in the comment period, with updates expected through DRONERESPONDERS' monthly FAA webinar series.
Rowland closed by pointing attendees toward the Commercial UAV Expo website and the Summit agenda, encouraging them to network with peers and vendors on the show floor. Day echoed that message, framing the future of public safety UAS as less about better aircraft and more about better leaders, training, and program development.
The DRONERESPONDERS Public Safety Summit takes place at Commercial UAV Expo 2026, September 1 to 3, at Caesars Forum in Las Vegas. As for this discussion, use the link below to register for your free on-demand recording.
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