A first: Unmanned aircraft to patrol Minnesota and N.D.'s border with Canada

Gerald L. Nino, U.S. Customs and Border Protection

A pair of Customs and Border Protection UAS aircraft located at the southern border are standing by to air operations. Similar unmanned aircraft will be used to patrol Minnesota and North Dakota's border with Canada.

The Predator B aircraft can hit speeds of 260 mph and is intended for detecting terror and illegal border-crossing activities.

Last update: December 3, 2008 - 3:54 PM

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Security efforts along Minnesota and North Dakota's border with Canada are being reinforced with an unmanned aircraft that will be based in Grand Forks, N.D., and could be patrolling the region as soon as January, federal authorities announced today.

This is U.S. Customs and Border Protection's first use of the Predator B Unmanned Aircraft System on the northern border. This system has been in use since 2005 on the United States' Southwest border with Mexico.

The aircraft is scheduled to leave from Fort Huachuca Airfield in Sierra Vista, Ariz., Thursday morning and arrive at the Grand Forks Air Force Base at about 2 p.m.

The northern border expansion is designed to help authorities identify and intercept potential terrorists and deter illegal border crossings, officials said.

Predator B aircraft are capable of flying at up to 260 miles per hour, for more than 18 hours and at altitudes of up to 50,000 feet. It is equipped with electro-optical sensors and a radar system that can document changes due to floods.

U.S. authorities on the northern border from coast to coast annually process more than 70 million international travelers and 35 million vehicles. Agents make about 4,000 arrests and intercept about 40,000 pounds of illegal drugs, federal officials said.

--PAUL WALSH