Echodyne has announced a partnership with public safety technology company Axon to support drone operations across law enforcement, homeland security, and Drone as First Responder programs in the U.S. and internationally.

Under the agreement, Echodyne's radar technology will support Axon's portfolio of public safety drone solutions — including Axon Air and Dedrone — providing low-altitude airspace awareness for authorized drone operations while enabling agencies to detect and respond to unauthorized or malicious UAS activity.

The partnership comes as DFR programs continue to expand and low-altitude airspace becomes increasingly congested. The companies say the integration is already supporting hundreds of DFR operations daily and that additional customer deployments are actively underway.

At the center of the collaboration is Echodyne's MESA radar, which is designed to deliver the precision airspace awareness needed to support evolving public safety drone operations. The companies say accurate, real-time airspace data is essential both for scaling commercial and DFR operations and for addressing the growing threat of rogue or malicious drone use.

"Radar is the cornerstone of airspace awareness and is especially important for the low altitude drone airspace where remotely piloted and, eventually, semi- and fully-autonomous UAS will operate," said Eben Frankenberg, CEO of Echodyne, in a statement. "Our work with Axon is focused on a shared safety mission - delivering innovative solutions for public safety agencies protecting communities and infrastructure."

Eric Hertz, executive vice president of operations at Axon, emphasized the stakes as DFR programs grow. 

"As these programs scale, agencies need trusted technologies that help them operate safely and confidently in increasingly complex airspace environments," he said. "We're excited to work with Echodyne to support the infrastructure that will help enable the next generation of public safety drone operations."