The NYPD has acquired a nearly $1 million high-tech vehicle designed to detect and neutralize hostile drones over New York City.

According to a NY Post report, the department paid $984,280 for the Maverick Unmanned Aerial Systems mobile command unit, a heavily customized Chevrolet Suburban built by FlyMotion LLC of Tampa, Fla. From the outside, it looks like any oversized SUV in a police fleet. Inside, it’s a different story: hidden compartments conceal launch-ready drones and a live-feed command screen capable of monitoring the skies for aerial threats.

“The vehicle will be used by the NYPD for counterterrorism capabilities in securing and protecting large-scale events and critical infrastructure,” the department said in a public announcement Thursday.

According to FlyMotion, the Maverick is built to function as both a standard patrol vehicle and a full command-and-control hub for unmanned systems — a dual capability that gives it a significant edge over the NYPD’s existing drone-command vehicle, a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van known as the Trident Series Command Center. That van, purchased last year from Sky Motion for $500,000, serves a similar mobile command role but lacks the Suburban’s agility and low profile.

“They can pull over and launch drones from portable drone compartments,” a law enforcement source told the Post, adding that the Maverick’s compact footprint makes it far more maneuverable and better suited to rapid, discreet deployment.

At least one official expressed hope that the vehicle comes equipped with drone-mitigation software — technology that would allow operators to effectively hijack and take control of a hostile drone mid-flight.

“At a million dollars, I’m hoping that they put the software for drone mitigation,” the source said. “It’s just like jail-breaking into another device.”

The purchases are part of a broader counter-drone push backed by a $6.5 million federal Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Systems grant recently awarded to the department. The city is preparing for a wave of high-profile events, including a massive celebration of the nation’s 250th birthday in New York Harbor this summer.

Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch announced on Feb. 10 that federal authorities are working to authorize the NYPD to neutralize hostile drones, with final sign-off expected from President Trump.

The department has also been moving toward acquiring the Iron Drone Raider, a system developed by American Robotics that deploys interceptor drones to hunt hostile devices using radar and then fires a lightweight mesh net to entangle the target’s rotors. A parachute allows the captured drone to float safely to the ground. The Post first reported that effort exclusively in June.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)