Arizona received its fourth unmanned aircraft system last Tuesday in the form of a Predator-B. US Customs and Border Patrol officials say that the new military aircraft will assist three others based at the National Air Security Operations Center (NASOC) in Sierra Vista with counter-drug trafficking operations and other Homeland Security missions along the Southwest border.
According to CBP spokeswoman Gina Gray: “Basing a fourth UAS in Sierra Vista will best posture CBP for rapid deployment throughout the southern tier of the United States and the Western Hemisphere.”
Two more aircraft flying from Corpus Christi, Texas assist NASOC operations along the nearly 2,000 miles of border with Mexico.
“The missions from these two centers will allow CBP to deploy its unmanned aircraft from the eastern tip of California across the common Mexican land borders of Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas,” CBP said in a statement.
The addition of the unmanned surveillance aircraft to the Arizona base brings the total number of CBP-operated UAS to nine. Six patrol from California to Louisiana in the south, and three cover the skies of Washington to Minnesota in the north. The Department of Homeland Security says that along with border security, the Predators will be available, if needed, in case of disaster relief and humanitarian support.
Source: IVN