QUANTICO, Va. (AFNS) —
For the first time, the Air Force Office of Special Investigations has certified a cadre of special agents to both operate and instruct others on the Skydio X10D as part of a broader effort to expand small unmanned aircraft system operations across the agency.
Last month, six personnel completed a weeklong course at AFOSI headquarters in Quantico, Virginia, creating the first group of instructors positioned to bring the capability back to technical operations units in the field.
“We not only learned how to operate the drones, but also how to properly instruct other individuals on how to fly successfully to meet mission needs,” said Special Agent Logan Trigg, assigned to the 2nd Field Investigations Squadron Technical Operations Program.
That instructor qualification is what gives the course its broader impact. Rather than returning to their units as individual operators, the six graduates can now begin building additional capacity across AFOSI.
“My plan is to train the entire 2 FIS Technical Operations flight on drone operations because it enables every member to carry out the mission regardless of where or when the capability is needed,” Trigg said. “Having everyone certified creates the ability to attack the mission effectively.”
That train-the-trainer model is central to how AFOSI intends to grow the program. The capability could support surveillance, outdoor crime scenes, protective-service support and other missions requiring what Trigg called an “an eye in the sky.”
The work to build AFOSI’s agency-level capability has been an ongoing effort since early 2024, with Detachment 111 at Edwards Air Force Base, California, serving as a working pilot program well before the five X10Ds will be used by Technical Operations agents in January 2027.
Creating multipliers
The course was structured around more than basic flight instruction. Agents first completed roughly 16 hours of classroom work covering airspace, Federal Aviation Administration requirements, mission planning and the administrative requirements behind government sUAS operations.
“After the classroom portion, we transitioned to the field for hands-on flight operations,” said Special Agent Scott Zawacki, AFOSI Technical Operations program manager. “We focused on the fundamentals of takeoff and landing, then progressed to the system’s autonomous capabilities and how those features can be applied to meet operational requirements.”
Once students were comfortable with the aircraft, the training shifted to approximately 16 hours of flight scenarios built around AFOSI missions.
In one exercise, students lifted to roughly 400 feet, identified a vehicle’s license plate and tracked the vehicle for roughly a mile. In another, they used the aircraft’s thermal camera at night to locate a person concealed in a wooded area.
“The real advantage is our ability to design highly specialized training scenarios that directly support AFOSI’s unique mission requirements,” Zawacki said.
By the end of the week, all six had qualified as both operators and instructors. The course was the latest step in an effort that began years earlier at Edwards AFB.
Building the program
At Edwards AFB, Anthony Zutten, AFOSI Det. 111 criminal indexing and investigations specialist, in coordination with Zawacki, developed a sUAS capability before AFOSI moved to establish a broader program in 2024.
To do this, Zutten worked through the approvals, funding and training requirements needed to stand up the local effort, which soon moved beyond demonstration flights.
Prior to the latest training, agents at Edwards AFB used drones to support reconnaissance related to illegal marijuana growing operations near the installation, map the site of a recent B-52 crash for the 412th Test Wing and assist with search-and-rescue efforts across the installation’s expansive operating area.
In one case, Zutten said a drone helped narrow the search area for a 12-year-old believed to be in danger before the child was eventually located. Those missions gave AFOSI early proof of concept for how sUAS could support investigations and other operational needs.
Meanwhile, at AFOSI headquarters, Zawacki examined the same capability from an agency-wide perspective. The two efforts eventually converged.
“Det. 111 helped establish the proof of concept for a broader expansion,” Zawacki said.
As AFOSI’s new MAJCOM sUAS program manager, Zawacki, in collaboration with Zutten, brought the Edwards AFB effort under the developing AFOSI structure, building on roughly two years of policy work, testing, coordination and funding efforts to establish a broader command capability. Zutten’s experience also made him a natural choice to lead AFOSI’s first broader operator-instructor course.
“He did a lot of the legwork in finding the policy, finding the people to talk to, coordinating everything and helping get this off the ground,” Zawacki said.
Drone technology also shows potential for detailed crime-scene documentation, he said. In one demonstration, operators captured 126 images that were stitched together to develop two- and three-dimensional crime-scene models.
“When reviewing crime-scene map captures, the detail is so clear you can zoom in and see each individual bullet casing, easily identify placards and see exactly where key evidence rests in relation to the scene,” Zutten said.
With compatible software, agents can also mark evidence and measure distances using spatial data captured through the drone’s imagery, incorporate telemetry data and upload the information directly into AFOSI’s case management system.
“By utilizing sUAS to assist with crime scenes, we can effectively cut tens of hours of work from our field agents by digitizing everything on scene in real time,” Zutten said.
AFOSI has not yet used that capability in an actual case. For now, demonstrations are helping officials determine where the technology can best support field operations.
“Our job is to give agents the capabilities they need to accomplish the mission,” Zutten said. “If this technology can help us collect detailed information faster, reduce risk to our people and better support a case or operation, then that’s where its value shines.”
By Thomas Brading
AFOSI Public Affairs
