The drones can dart across fields at 100 miles an hour, punch through windows and bowl over assailants.
The sleek, black machines aren’t destined for battlefields in Ukraine or skies above the Middle East. Instead, they will hurtle through the hallways of high schools in Florida and Georgia.
Mithril Defense is deploying fleets of drones—called “Black Arrows”—for schools as part of state-funded programs to increase security and reduce gun violence.
The machines can screech, flash strobe lights and shoot pepper gel to deter assailants—while operated by pilots at the company’s headquarters in Austin, Texas.
Executives from Mithril and law-enforcement officials said the drones could reduce student casualties by reaching attackers faster than police or school-resource officers.
“It’s revolutionary,” said Volusia County Sheriff’s Office Capt. Todd Smith, who oversees safety and security for the county’s schools in Florida. The drones are expected to be installed in Deltona High School on Monday and be ready for use this fall. “This is the future.”