United States, Nationwide
Drug Enforcement Administration
Autonomous drone detection and monitoring
OperationalOfficial publicationPAI-3409CA25
- Body
- Drug Enforcement Administration
- Country
- United States
- Area
- Nationwide
- Technology
- Autonomous drone detection and monitoring
- Supplier
- Not stated in the source
- Status
- Operational
In routine use by the named body, on the evidence of a public source. - Stage
- In use now
- Since
- Not known
- Legal basis
- Not stated in the source
- Oversight
- Not stated in the source
- Evidence
- Official publication
Police force, government department or public body publication - Source
- Office of Management and Budget, 2025 federal AI use case inventory (DOJ-0092)
- Last checked
- Record code
PAI-3409CA25
Notes
The Justice Department's 2025 AI use case inventory (entry DOJ-0092, as consolidated by the Office of Management and Budget) lists 'Autonomous Drone Detection and Monitoring' as deployed. The entry says DEA needs drones that navigate autonomously and safely, with outputs of high-resolution and thermal imaging, video, 3D mapping and analytics on drones and their communication links. It gives an operational date of January 2024, names no vendor and classes the use as high-impact.
Other systems used by Drug Enforcement Administration
| Deployment | Country | Supplier | Since | Status | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drug Enforcement AdministrationAI triage and summarisation of open-source foreign reporting | United StatesNationwide (Office of National Security Intelligence) | Developed and vetted by a US Intelligence Community element outside the DEA and DOJ (not named) | — | Operational | |
| Drug Enforcement AdministrationDrug Signature Program models (origin and manufacturing route of seized drugs) | United StatesNationwide | — | — | Operational | |
| Drug Enforcement AdministrationLicence plate readers (DEASIL programme and state, federal and commercial partner data) | United StatesNationwide | — | — | Operational | |
| Drug Enforcement AdministrationFriction ridge print comparison and print-card character recognition | United StatesNationwide | — | — | Operational | |
| Drug Enforcement AdministrationSupply chain analytics | United StatesNationwide | — | — | Operational | |
| Drug Enforcement AdministrationData and analytics database tools for open-source investigation | United StatesNationwide | — | — | Operational | |
| Drug Enforcement AdministrationThreat and security incident monitoring (pilot) | United StatesNationwide | — | — | Trial | |
| Drug Enforcement AdministrationGunshot detection system | United StatesNationwide | — | — | Operational | |
| Drug Enforcement AdministrationFinancial and cryptocurrency analysis tools (federal partner and commercial) | United StatesNationwide | — | — | Operational | |
| Drug Enforcement AdministrationIntelligence Data Platform (PenLink PLX) multi-language transcription | United StatesNationwide | PenLink PLX | — | Operational | |
| Drug Enforcement AdministrationAudio and written transcription and translation of Spanish and Mandarin (pilot) | United StatesNationwide | MIT Lincoln Laboratory | — | Trial | |
| Drug Enforcement AdministrationAnalysis of financial reports to identify linkages across investigations | United StatesNationwide | — | — | Proposed | |
| Drug Enforcement AdministrationAnalysis of prescription monitoring programme data | United StatesNationwide | — | — | Proposed |
Autonomous drone detection and monitoring elsewhere in United States
See them in the tracker| Deployment | Country | Supplier | Since | Status | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Customs and Border ProtectionAI-enabled autonomous underwater vehicle | United States | — | — | Proposed | |
| US Customs and Border ProtectionRelocatable Multi-Sensor System | United States | — | — | Proposed | |
| Federal Bureau of PrisonsUAS threat detector near prison facilities | United StatesFederal prison facilities | — | — | Operational |