Thread: Feds Use More Unmanned Aircraft to Secure Border

Feds Use More Unmanned Aircraft to Secure Border

foxnews.com
Associated Press
Published November 12, 2011

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas -- U.S. Customs and Border Protection is using more unmanned aircraft in its work along the border with Mexico.

Remotely piloted Predator aircraft complement Border Patrol agents' efforts on the ground, guiding them through the darkness to illegal immigrants hiding in scrubland or alerting them to smugglers' incursions. One night last week, a Predator found two men hiding in brush just feet from a spot where agents had passed without noticing.

By the end of the year, the border agency will have six drones stationed in Arizona and Texas, and it hopes to add more.

The Predators fly at 19,000 feet, looking for smugglers of illegal immigrants, drugs and guns.
Agents say they're effective but expensive. A Predator system -- the plane, sensors, control consoles and antennas -- costs $18.5 million.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/11/12/fe ... z1dWmI6CKF

Border Drones

cbs42.com
Reported by: Lindsey Wilhelm
Published: 2:04 pm

Remotely piloted Predator aircraft is the pride of Border Patrol agents' efforts on the ground, guiding them through the darkness to illegal immigrants hiding in scrubland or alerting them to smugglers' incursions. One night last week, a drone found two men hiding in brush just feet from a spot where agents had passed without noticing.

By the end of the year, the border agency will have six drones stationed in Arizona and Texas, and it hopes to add more.


The Predators fly at 19,000 feet, looking for smugglers of illegal immigrants, drugs and guns. Agents say they're effective but expensive. A Predator system - the plane, sensors, control consoles and antennas - costs $18.5 million.

http://www.cbs42.com/content/localnews/ ... x?rss=1659

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