Wichita council accepts $654,368 Kwik Trip donation to fund Axon/Skydio drone hive for first responders

The Wichita City Council on Dec. 23 accepted a $654,368 donation from Kwik Trip to purchase an Axon/Skydio DFR (drone first-responder) hive for placement at 1010 East Douglas, near Old Town.

Deputy Chief (Wichita Police Department) described the hive as three docks and three drones that would provide 24/7 coverage and rapid deployment to priority calls. "The DFR allows for a drone to deploy to priority calls and respond normally within 2 minutes or less," the deputy chief said, and staff noted the donation covers the first five years of program costs. Council materials cited 2025 call volumes in the relevant beat: more than 5,600 calls for service and 3,214 police reports, including 695 Part 1 offenses.

The department said drones help improve response times, allow safer tactical assessment and can deter street racing and congregation that generate high call volumes in the Old Town corridor. Staff told council there is no anticipated increase in personnel to operate the real-time information center and that the drones are engineered to avoid mid-air collisions when multiple units operate.

Council voted to accept the donation, authorize the purchase of the Axon/Skydio DFR hive for $654,368 and direct donated funds be used for the purchase; the motion passed 7–0.