MCSO waiting for right moment to deploy drone
By Nancy Flake
The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office is waiting for the right moment to use a drone it purchased last fall for around $500,000.
A crew of MCSO officers who will operate the Shadowhawk MK-II, an unmanned aerial vehicle designed and manufactured by Vanguard Defense Industries in Spring, has been certified, Chief Deputy Randy McDaniel said. They are still training with the Shadowhawk, and the MCSO is doing “some upgrades to the bird,” McDaniel said.
A variation of the Shadowhawk that was being tested last fall in Montgomery County crashed when the operator noticed a vibration as the craft was hovering about 15 feet off the ground, Vanguard CEO Michael Buscher said Wednesday.
The operator was attempting to land the Shadowhawk when “the aircraft started oscillating,” Buscher said. “The blades clipped a SWAT vehicle and struck a spotlight, and (the Shadowhawk) fell to the ground.”
The aircraft caused about $90 in damage to the SWAT vehicle, Buscher said, and its rotor blades were damaged.
The turbine-driven prototype of the Shadowhawk was a military variation, Buscher said, and Vanguard has since abandoned that prototype.
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