[R-G] Unmanned drones to patrol state-Canada border

[Anthony Fenton]

Unmanned drones to patrol state-Canada border

http://www.startribune.com/local/39644257.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aULPQL7PQLanchO7DiUsr
By BOB VON STERNBERG, Star Tribune

February 16, 2009

After a couple of false starts, Predator unmanned drone aircraft are  
scheduled to start roaming the Canadian border this week.

State and federal officials will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony today  
at Grand Forks Air Force Base, where the first Predator arrived in  
early December.

That ceremonial milestone had to be delayed twice because of a  
maintenance problem and turbulent weather.

The Predators, unarmed versions of the aircraft being used in the  
Afghanistan and Iraq wars, have been patrolling the Mexican border  
since 2005. The Grand Forks, N.D., base is one of five outposts along  
the northern border where the aircraft will be based.

Equipped with radar and optical sensors, the Predators are capable of  
flying up to 260 miles per hour at altitudes up to 50,000 feet for  
more than 18 hours.

The drones are operated by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. They  
transmit their images and data to operators who can alert border  
agents on the ground.

Operators of the border agency's fully loaded, $10.5 million Predators  
use the drones' radar imaging and infrared capabilities to "light" a  
target at night with a laser visible only through the night-vision  
goggles of helicopter crews who intercept some of the people crossing  
the Mexican border.

 From October 2006 through a year ago, the drones had helped in the  
apprehension of 3,857 illegal immigrants and the seizure of more than  
nine tons of marijuana, according to the most recent statistics  
available.

Currently border agents arrest about 4,000 people who illegally come  
into the United States a year from Canada and seize about 40,000  
pounds of illegal drugs.

Landing the Predators was a coup for the Grand Forks base, which is  
slated to lose its fleet of KC-135 tankers in the next few years. Air  
Force officials say they hope as many as 20 drones eventually will be  
based there.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. Bob von Sternberg •  
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