Skyfire Opens Innovation Hub in Huntsville

Skyfire Consulting, an Atlanta-area drone designer and manufacturer, has expanded with an office in Huntsville. The company announced plans to grow within the space, law enforcement, defense and technology sectors.

Skyfire is based in Marietta, Ga. It a has a facility in Maine that focuses on R&D and manufacturing. Another in northern Virginia near Washington, D.C., provides accessibility to federal law enforcement, defense training specialists and other federal contacts.

“Home to Redstone Arsenal, which has been the center of the U.S. Army’s missile and rocket programs for more than 50 years, the new headquarters for the U.S. Space Command and the University of Alabama in Huntsville’s I²C Invention to Innovation Center, Huntsville is the perfect location for Skyfire to continue our growth,” said Matt Sloane, Skyfire founder and CEO, in a press release.

The 7-year-old company focuses on use of drones by public safety agencies. It offers POST-certified training sessions for basic pilot flying, law enforcement, SWAT and custom programs. Skyfire’s offices are in the Shelby Center for Science and Technology on the UAH campus.

The company’s diverse array of partners include Netflix, CNN, the Montana State Patrol, Los Angeles Fire Department, Colonial Pipeline, Bravo, YouTube and The Weather Channel. Sectors it serves cover federal, state and local public safety agencies, international UAS programs, oil, gas, engineering, global public health, private security and overseeing events, film and television.

“This office will allow us to foster new relationships with the FBI, which recently announced their plans to build a $1 billion facility in the area, and others within public safety and flight, as well as staying on the pulse of new and innovative technology in our industry,” Sloane said.

The FBI’s new facility on Redstone Arsenal will increase the presence it has had in the city for more than 40 years. More than 400 FBI employees work in the area and will be joined by nearly 4,000 others transferring from Washington and new hires. Among the FBI operations on Redstone are the Hazardous Devices School and Terrorist Explosive Device Analytical Center.