US Navy Testing Drones to Track Drug Trafficking Miriam Wells - InSight
go to original May 2, 2013

The U.S. Navy last week began testing two new aerial tools, borrowed from the battlefields of Afghanistan and Iraq, that officials say will make it easier to detect, track and videotape drug smugglers in action. (AssociatedPress)

The US Navy has begun testing new aerial equipment to detect and monitor drug trafficking in the Caribbean, an example of the technological advances being employed in regional crime fighting.

As the Associated Press reported, the equipment includes large blimps equipped with cameras and sensors that can detect and identify ships from up to 50 miles away, as well as unmanned aircraft known as drones, meant to obtain photos and video of suspicious vessels spotted by the blimp.

The technology has been extensively used by US Customs and Border Protection and the military, but never before by the Navy. Rear Admiral Sinclair Harris, commander of the Navy's Fourth Fleet, said that the devices would be used to compensate for a series of budget cuts, which will limit the number of US Navy ships on patrol in the Caribbean.

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