Aerial Surviellence backs up surface assets

Predator drones have provenn their worth in the ongoing wars in the Middle East. They are now being used to supplement the US Customs and Border Patrol efforts along the northern and southern borders of the US. In an article on Federal News Radio, Dorothy Ramienski cites CBP sources with: Since 2004 Customs and Border Protection unmanned aircraft have flown more than 4,500 hours, adding to the close to 5,000 arrests and they are extremely useful for classifying a contact: The Predator is also used for quick follow up if and when a stationary sensor on the ground goes off and has eliminated some false alarms.
"The Predator is usually the first to aircraft to arrive. From its kind of covert vantage point, it's able to detect what happened -- what cause the sensor to go off. It could be . . . wildlife, for example. In that kind of a case, we're able to package the right response forces.


The long loiter time for RPV's allows for extensive coverage of an area and its relative speed allows for quick target discrimination. Look for great use of this technology in the years to come elsewhere in the region.