Versaterm doubles down on drones with Aloft acquisition

When Versaterm acquired DroneSense in July 2025, the message was clear: drones were no longer a side project for public safety agencies; they were becoming part of the core dispatch workflow. Now, Canada-based Versaterm is taking that strategy a step further. The company has announced it is acquiring Aloft, one of the most important names in airspace intelligence and FAA drone authorization. The move effectively fills in the missing piece of Versaterm’s drone puzzle: regulatory approval and controlled airspace compliance.

Taken together, the two acquisitions show a deliberate strategy to build an end-to-end drone ecosystem for public safety — from dispatch to airspace clearance to live mission management.

Last year’s DroneSense deal allowed Versaterm to integrate drone fleet management directly into its Computer-Aided Dispatch (CAD) and Incident Command & Control systems. That meant agencies could deploy a drone flight as easily as sending out a patrol car, fire engine, or EMS unit. It was a major step toward operationalizing Drone as First Responder (DFR) programs, which allow drones to arrive at emergency scenes ahead of ground units to provide real-time situational awareness.

But even with dispatch integration and fleet management streamlined, one major friction point remained: FAA authorization. That’s where Aloft comes in.

More: Texas sues Anzu over alleged DJI drone deception

Aloft is an FAA-approved Unmanned Service Supplier (USS) and powers the vast majority of LAANC (Low Altitude Authorization and Notification Capability) approvals across the United States. In practical terms, it handles the near-instant digital authorizations that allow drones to legally operate in controlled airspace, including areas near airports and in dense urban environments.

By integrating Aloft’s airspace intelligence directly into the DroneSense by Versaterm platform, agencies will be able to manage flight planning, FAA authorization, compliance, and mission execution within a single workflow.

Instead of toggling between systems or relying on manual processes to secure clearance, departments can move from call intake to drone launch with far fewer steps.

Versaterm CEO Steve Seoane describes the acquisition as a way to remove the “blockers” agencies face every day. The broader goal appears to be treating drones not as experimental tools, but as standardized assets in daily operations.

When Versaterm first announced the DroneSense acquisition, then-CEO Warren Loomis said the move brought the company closer to a future where drones are “as routine as any patrol or fire unit.” With the addition of Aloft’s regulatory backbone, that future looks more tangible.

Jon Hegranes, founder and CEO of Aloft, says the company was built to power the “airspace layer” of modern drone operations. Now, that layer will sit directly inside a public safety platform already used for dispatch, reporting, and command oversight.

For agencies investing in DFR programs and broader drone deployments, the implications are significant. A unified platform that combines dispatch, live video, fleet management, compliance tools, cybersecurity protections, and FAA airspace authorization reduces complexity — one of the biggest barriers to scaling drone programs nationwide.

In just months, Versaterm has moved from offering traditional public safety software to assembling what may be one of the most vertically integrated drone response platforms in the market. And if this strategy continues, drones may soon feel less like cutting-edge tech and more like standard operating procedure.

More: FAA steps up enforcement against reckless drone pilots