![]() ![]() And with the camera capabilities, they will know what they’ll encounter once they get there.īorder Patrol Agent Josh Van Fossan tracks a group of five subjects after an unattended ground sensor activation near Naco, Arizona, Oct. ![]() When they spot something on the ground, the drone can send coordinates to agents on the ground and even has a laser that precisely points to the target, so agents know exactly where to go. This means agents can stay far out of earshot and stealthily observe whatever is on the ground, whether that’s drug smugglers or illegal aliens. The quadcopters can fly for about 30 minutes at a time, depending on the weather, at a height of about 1,200 feet – depending on airspace restrictions – and have daytime and nighttime infrared cameras with a 30-times optical zoom. They’re cyber-secure against anyone trying to hack in and steal them or the data they’re providing. Agents can draw a square onto the system’s map or plug in coordinates for an area and a mission and let the drone hover from above while they do their jobs and operate the drones’ sophisticated sensors from the ground. “The ones we’re flying are Department of Defense-approved systems, which have been flown, in some cases, for many years,” he said. ![]() Haynes is quick to point out that these are not toys and not the consumer-grade drones you might see in a big box retailer intended for amusement. Agents fly two different types of drones: a vertical takeoff and landing quadcopter and a fixed-wing model similar to a model airplane. Plans are eventually to have 460 drones patrol from above. Right now, the Border Patrol has more than 135 of these systems in use throughout the country, with 60 more in the procurement process. Photo by Border Patrol Agent Andrew Franklin It gives us a bird’s-eye view,” multiplying the capabilities of agents in the field by augmenting the manned systems of Air and Marine Operations.Ī Border Patrol agent near Tucson, Arizona, readies a fixed-wing drone for launch. These systems are deployed by Border Patrol agents and operated by Border Patrol agents. “Manned aircraft support is frequently delayed a lot of times it’s unavailable, and that increases the risks to the agents. “The Border Patrol requires a supplemental airborne reconnaissance, surveillance and tracking capability to enhance our situational awareness,” said Assistant Chief Patrol Agent Keith Haynes, national operations director for the patrol’s small unmanned aircraft systems program in Washington, D.C. Instead of having to launch a much larger platform, such as an Air and Marine Operations helicopter and crew, the smaller drones fit in the back of a patrol vehicle and can be put in the sky in a matter of minutes. It was tracking them and it was great to have it right there.”ĭrones provide Border Patrol agents with air support no matter where they are. ![]() The drone was launched, and within 30 seconds, it spotted 19 suspects within the Sudan grass, leading the agents right to the group with three more guides apprehended a short time later. But that’s when they got a little help from above: small unmanned aircraft systems, better known as drones. There was no sign of where they went, no prospect of finding them, and it had become like a literal lost cause for the agents that day. But before he and his colleagues could get to them, the group vanished into a field of 7- to 8-foot-tall Sudan grass, a drought-resistant plant ideal for the arid conditions of southern Arizona – too tall and dense for the remote camera systems to spot movement. He was part of a patrol not far from the Mexican border near Yuma, Arizona, when the call came in that a group of illegal aliens were crossing the border. Supervisory Border Patrol Agent Jeff McBride recalled one that almost got away. Photo by Border Patrol Agent Benjamin Taylor Supervisory Border Patrol Agent Jeffrey McBride launches a drone to fly over the Colorado River near Yuma, Arizona, Oct. ![]()
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