Michigan oversight committee hears briefing on public‑safety drone use, flags gaps in detection, mitigation and supply chain

At a meeting of the Oversight - Homeland Security and Foreign Influence committee, members heard a briefing from Matt Rybar, president of the Michigan Public Safety Drone Association and vice president of remote operations at Unmanned Vehicle Technologies, on how public‑safety agencies across Michigan use drones and on gaps the state faces in detection, mitigation and supply‑chain resilience.

Rybar told the committee the technology “is a force multiplier” for search and rescue, tactical responses and disaster assessment but that Michigan lacks widespread counter‑UAS (unmanned aircraft systems) mitigation and that U.S. suppliers are still behind foreign manufacturers in cost and feature parity.

The discussion matters because local law enforcement and fire departments are increasingly deploying drones to locate missing people, provide scene intelligence and reduce risk to responders, while at the same time federal and state authorities debate how to secure critical sites and events from negligent or malicious drone activity.

Rybar, who described his background in electrical engineering, 11 years in law enforcement and running several drone programs including one he started in Kent County in 2017, said the Michigan Public Safety Drone Association now supports about 500…