Drones Now Guard Entire US-Mexico Border

Fourth to launch tomorrow from Texas
By Kate Seamons,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 31, 2010 10:04 AM CDT
Drones Now Guard Entire US-Mexico Border
A US Predator unmanned drone armed with a missile stands on the tarmac of Kandahar military airport.   (AP Photo//Massoud Hossaini, Pool)

From Afghanistan to ... Arizona. With the launch of a fourth drone tomorrow, the entire 2,000-mile US-Mexico border will now be guarded by Predator B drones, according to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. And by the beginning of next year, a total of six should be operational, outfitted with night-vision cameras and a 30-hour flight capacity to allow them to detect drug and human smuggling, reports the Christian Science Monitor.

"This is yet another critical step we have taken in ensuring the safety of the border and is an important tool in our security toolbox," Napolitano said. (More Mexican border stories.)

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