Customs & Border Protection Service UAV

Recently there has been a flurry of articles citing the interest by law enforcement personnel in using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to support their missions in U.S. domestic airspace. These requests to the FAA are not new. Nearly three years ago, on March 27, 2008, the New York Times carried an article entitled Spy Drones in Demand by U.S. Police Departments but Approval Pending. Approval is still pending, for reasons cited in Bruce Seibert's accompanying article (below).

The use of UAVs overseas in war zones has been the incentive for law enforcement personnel to create the awareness of, and develop the justification for, the use of UAVs domestically. In addition, the technology has markedly improved in recent years and is more readily available. Read on.  

Manned vs. Remotely Piloted Aircraft (UAS):  Aerial Surveillance Operations in the National Airspace 

The recent cancellation of the Department of Homeland Security's SBInet fixed border monitoring surveillance system due to reliability problems and cost over-runs has the government scrambling for a replacement system. (See "DHS unveils rigid requirements to replace terminated SBINet," Washington Technology, Feb. 01, 2011.)

Some would recommend the use of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UASs), but manned, light aircraft may prove to be more operationally practical and even less expensive in total program costs. My white paper on this topic on my blog explains why this is so. Read on.

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Sincerely,

Carolyn Abbott, ASSIST-U.S.®