The Montgomery Country Sheriff’s Office is about to get an impressive new crime fighting tool.

This Friday, the county will receive a ShadowHawk Unmanned Aviation System from Vanguard Defense Industries.

The ShadowHawk is a fully autonomous helicopter equipped with a digital daytime camera as well as an infrared camera for nighttime operations it can also be fitted out to fire shotgun shells and grenades.

The sUAS was purchased through a Department of Homeland Security Grant and cost the Sheriff’s office around $250,000 dollars. Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office is the first in Texas to use the small helicopters. The department plans to use the helicopter in missing persons cases.

Responding to a recent U.S. Department of Homeland Security grant for a squadron of ShadowHawk unmanned aircraft systems (UASs), Montgomery County, Texas, Chief Deputy Randy McDaniel says: “We’re very excited about the funding and looking forward to placing the equipment into the field. Both my narcotics and SWAT units have been looking at numerous ways to deploy it, and I absolutely believe it will become a critical component on all SWAT callouts and narcotics raids and emergency management operations.”

On November 8, 2010, the Federal Aviation Administration announced that the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office in Conroe, Texas has been approved for a Certificate of Airworthiness to operate the ShadowHawk® UAS from Vanguard Defense Industries.

“The ShadowHawk will represent a significant resource for our department and increase our abilities to conduct search and rescue, emergency management operations, execution of high risk warrants and most importantly protect the safety and welfare of our citizenry” stated Sheriff Tommy Gage.

The ShadowHawk® is a 29 pound, 72” long rotary-wing Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) equipped with both digital daytime camera optics as well as Forward Looking Infrared (FLIR) technology for nighttime operations.