Surveillance Balloons Help Federal Agents Along Texas-Mexico Border Kolten Parker - San Antonio Express-News
go to original September 11, 2014

A helium blimp, or aerostat, can carry high-tech cameras that are used in tracking drug smugglers and undocumented immigrants along the Rio Grande. (Bob Owen/San Antonio Express-News)

Eight 55-foot balloons with military-grade surveillance cameras are providing U.S. Border Patrol agents an eye in the sky along the Texas-Mexico border.

The blimp-like aerostats, which fly about 3,500 feet above the ground and are tethered to the ground, have 360-degree, infrared surveillance capability that can read a license plate from miles away, according to the Valley Morning Star.

"It's definitely been a game changer," Border Patrol spokesman Joe Gutierrez told the Valley Morning Star. "We place them strategically in locations where there's the most traffic. "Wherever the risk is greater, we focus resources and technology."

Read the rest at San Antonio Express-News

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