 UNMANNED AIRPLANES MAY PATROL SOUTHWEST BORDER
The Border Patrol is pleased with the results of recent tests of new high-tech equipment for use along the southwest border, particularly with equipment known as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. These are airplanes that range in size from that of a football up to a shopping cart, and can be equipped with cameras that see both day and night and are capable of sending a live video feed to agents up to 50 miles away.
The Border Patrol hopes the drones will be useful in patrolling some of the more remote areas of the border. No matter how effective they prove to be, they cannot replace live border agents. They would not be able to look behind trees or bushes, or help an injured person. They would, however, be able to alert agents to the presence of a wounded person, as well as give some advance warning if the migrants in question appeared to be armed drug smugglers. The drones could also be used to provide emergency rations and water to those stranded in the desert.
INS officials say it will be years before the drones are available for use, but the tests demonstrate the increasing reliance on technological innovation at the border.
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