Aircraft

Flight International online news 10:30GMT: General Atomics Aeronautical Services has been awarded a contract to produce the “Predator B” unmanned air vehicle by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency.


                                                                                                   Source: General Atomics

The medium altitude, long-endurance “Predator B” UAV will be deployed in direct support of the Arizona Border Control Initiative designed to curb illegal activities, such as human trafficking, along Arizona’s southern border. 

The US Department of Homeland Security says the “Predator B” platform will bring state-of-the-art technology to what is already the largest law enforcement air force in the world.

Flight operations will be controlled and monitored by CBP Border Patrol agents. The images received by the aircraft via sophisticated electro-optic sensors will be viewed in real-time and relayed to agents on the ground. 

This new technology will supplement existing intrusion detection, and intelligence-gathering devices as well as providing an additional force multiplier within a particular portion of the border. 

This technology has proven itself highly successful in providing agents with a detailed “birds eye view” particularly in remote portions of the border areas where CBP Border Patrol agents cannot easily or safely travel, and infrastructure is difficult or impossible to build.

ROSS BENTLEY/LONDON