Drones over N.M.'s border not on radar

[Judi Lynn]

Drones over N.M.'s border not on radar
By James W. Brosnan
Scripps Howard News Service
December 5, 2005

WASHINGTON - President Bush, in El Paso last week, said, "We're going to use drones to help enforce the border in rural Texas and in rural New Mexico and rural Arizona."

But it appears New Mexico and Texas have disappeared from the flight plan, at least for a few months.

Two days after Bush's speech on Tuesday, border Chief David Aguilar said the use of drones would shortly be expanded "in the Arizona area of operation," where a Tucson-based aerial drone has helped nab more than 1,000 border-crossers just in the past two months. He ignored a question about using drones over New Mexico.

The problem is that, while the patrol might secure the ground along the border, it's the Federal Aviation Administration that rules the skies. Their officials have not approved the use of drones except in restricted airspace that civilian planes are not supposed to enter, such as the airspace over southern Arizona.
(snip/...)

http://www.abqtrib.com/albq/nw_local/article/0,2564,ALBQ_19858_4290412,00.html

[MADem]

1. A simple NOTAM can take care of that

Put the drones at a set flight level, let anyone flying a flight plan be aware of it, and off ya go. It's a paperwork drill. The only ones with a problem might be some guy trying to duck in under the radar.

[Javaman]

2. "drones at border"

That explains morons* visit there last week...

[dusmcj]

3. that's how the administration like it

"drones not on the radar" - that pretty much sums it up - the administration has a lot of drones, and they're often not on the radar. They work hard to achieve that effect, and succeed all too often.

Couldn't resist...

[VegasWolf]

4. Hey, Bush has to get his coke into the country somehow. nt

[Gloria]

5. Hell, they've got dirigibles hovering around, or at least they

did a couple of years ago when I went down to Palomas......who need drones??? LOL

[Miss Chybil]

6. Bush was just bushittin' anyway... nt