Three schools in Florida will install pepper-spraying drones during the upcoming 2026-27 academic year as part of a new measure to deter school shooting attacks.
The State of Florida, alongside Colorado and Georgia, will be the first to integrate drones from Campus Guardian Angel – a commercial brand and service by Mithril Defense.
According to Campus Guardian Angel (CGA), the company describes itself as “an elite, on-site safety response capability that works alongside school safety teams, confronting any active shooter threat in seconds to save lives.”
How Will The Drones Work?
On its Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) tab, the Austin, Texas-based company confirms that the drones are flown by “elite human pilots” under the command of the response capability service’s Duty Commander.
During an active shooter incident, CGA explains that the drone team will first “deploy a distraction mechanism such as air poppers” and subsequently ask the assailant to surrender.
If they do not back down, the drones will retaliate by spraying pepper rounds at the shooter, “making it more difficult for the shooter to see or operate effectively.”
Should the attacker persist, the drone team will begin to use “kinetic energy hits,” attacking the shooter “at speeds ranging from 40 mph to 70 mph.
Preparation For Upcoming School Year
Deltona High School in Volusia County is set to install 39 drones for the upcoming school year. Amos P Godby High School in Leon County and Boyd H Anderson High School in Broward County are also expected to launch the program.
The equipment and services will cost states $20,000 a year for an 80,000-square-foot-school, which is reportedly less than hiring a security officer, according to Mithril CEO Justin Marston.
Why Not Address Root Causes Of Incidents?
"We should teach kids that they shouldn't start fires ... but I wouldn't send my kids to a school that didn't have a sprinkler system," Marston said when questioned about addressing root causes of shooting incidents. "They aren't mutually exclusive."
