Flying Lion
Flying Lion is a Redondo Beach-based private drone services firm specializing in Drone as First Responder programs and BVLOS flight operations for U.S. public-safety and emergency-response agencies.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2014
- HeadquartersRedondo Beach, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Flying Lion does
Flying Lion is a private U.S. drone-services company headquartered in Redondo Beach, California, founded in 2014. According to its public firmographic profile, the firm specializes in Drone as First Responder (DFR) programs and Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) flight operations — two technically and regulatorily demanding subcategories of commercial unmanned aviation that are typically sold into public-safety and emergency-response agencies.
The company's underlying capability is operational rather than software-driven: BVLOS flights require FAA Part 107 waivers and operational authorizations, and DFR deployments require integration with 911 / Computer-Aided Dispatch workflows and on-scene situational-awareness protocols. With a headcount of 11–50 employees and a leadership team consisting of founder and president Barry Brennan and vice president Steven V. Katz (who also teaches at a community college, suggesting ties to a drone-training pipeline), Flying Lion appears to operate as a specialized services firm rather than a platform or product company.
The available source material does not disclose pricing models, customer contracts, funding history, revenue figures, partnerships, or detailed product descriptions. The firm's website (flyinglioninc.com) returned only a verification/loading screen during data collection, so primary first-party content was not captured. As a result, the business model — likely a mix of per-mission service fees, managed-service contracts, and training engagements with public-safety buyers — can only be inferred from category norms, not confirmed from company disclosure.
Flying Lion firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Flying Lion
- Website
- https://flyinglioninc.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2014
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Flying Lion is a Redondo Beach-based private drone services firm specializing in Drone as First Responder programs and BVLOS flight operations for U.S. public-safety and emergency-response agencies.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Flying Lion industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Public Safety Drone Services
- NAICS
- Support Activities for Air Transportation (4881), Other Support Activities for Air Transportation (488190)
- akta.pro primary industry
- UAS Integration, Certification & Compliance Systems (Remote ID, Detect-and-Avoid) (IMABAIAO)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Fixed-Wing Unmanned Aircraft (UAV) (IMABAIAB)
Keywords
Where Flying Lion is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Redondo Beach
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
Flying Lion business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Flying Lion product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Flying Lion provides drone services specializing in Drone as First Responder (DFR) programs and Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) flight operations. The company delivers aerial support to public safety agencies for emergency response, situational awareness, and incident management.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Drone as First Responder (DFR) Program Services End-to-end Drone as First Responder service in which Flying Lion launches and pilots drones to arrive at emergency scenes ahead of ground units, providing live aerial situational awareness to law enforcement, fire, and EMS incident commanders.
- BVLOS Flight Operations Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) drone flight services conducted under FAA waiver, enabling long-range missions for public safety, inspection, and surveillance use cases that exceed standard visual-line-of-sight drone operations.
Companies that use Flying Lion
Customer profileIdeal customer profiles1 record
Flying Lion technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Flying Lion partnerships and signals
Strategic signalRecent moves2 records
Expansion highlights2 records
Flying Lion competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Skydio: Leading US drone manufacturer with deep public safety and DFR market presence through its X10 platform and autonomy software, increasingly offering turnkey DFR programs that overlap with Flying Lion's service scope.
- DJI: Largest global drone manufacturer whose Matrice and enterprise platforms underpin most public safety drone programs, including those operated by service providers like Flying Lion.
- Axon: Dominant public safety technology provider that acquired DroneSense and is building an end-to-end DFR stack for law enforcement, posing competitive risk to independent DFR service operators like Flying Lion.
Emerging players
- Dedrone: Counter-UAS and airspace security company serving defense and public safety, increasingly intersecting with DFR programs that need airspace deconfliction and integration support.
- Percepto: Provider of autonomous drone-in-a-box systems for industrial inspection and monitoring, with growing presence in security and public safety use cases adjacent to Flying Lion's DFR focus.
- Matternet: Operator of autonomous urban drone delivery networks with deep FAA regulatory experience in BVLOS operations — a comparable operator with overlapping regulatory and operational expertise, though focused on medical logistics rather than public safety.
Direct peers
- DroneSense: DFR-focused software and operations platform serving public safety agencies with flight management, live streaming, and program management — directly overlapping with the operational software layer of Flying Lion's DFR services. (Now part of Axon.)
- BRINC Drones: US-based drone manufacturer and DFR service provider focused on public safety, including the Lemur platform and integrated Drone as First Responder offerings — directly competing with Flying Lion's public safety focus.
- Easy Aerial: Provider of drone-in-a-box solutions and managed drone services for security, public safety, and inspection — competing with Flying Lion in BVLOS autonomous operations for government and first responder customers.
- DroneUp: Drone services company operating across delivery, inspection, and public safety applications with autonomous operations capabilities — a comparable service-oriented drone operator with overlapping BVLOS expertise.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights5 records
Customer concentration
Flying Lion social profiles
Digital presenceFlying Lion financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Flying Lion leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Flying Lion funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Flying Lion M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Flying Lion
What does Flying Lion do?
Flying Lion provides drone services specializing in Drone as First Responder (DFR) programs and Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) flight operations. The company delivers aerial support to public safety agencies for emergency response, situational awareness, and incident management.
Is Flying Lion a public or private company?
Flying Lion is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Flying Lion founded?
Flying Lion was founded in 2014. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Flying Lion based?
Flying Lion is headquartered in Redondo Beach, United States, in the North America region.
Who are Flying Lion's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Skydio, DJI and Axon. Emerging players are Dedrone, Percepto and Matternet. Direct peers are DroneSense, BRINC Drones, Easy Aerial and DroneUp.
Does Flying Lion have an API?
No public API is recorded for Flying Lion.
What industry is Flying Lion in?
Flying Lion's product category is Public Safety Drone Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is IMABAIAO, UAS Integration, Certification & Compliance Systems (Remote ID, Detect-and-Avoid), with a secondary code of IMABAIAB, Fixed-Wing Unmanned Aircraft (UAV). Its NAICS code is 4881.