The Pentagon is considering expanding the use of unmanned vessels for surveillance on the Rio Grande and in the Gulf of Mexico following successful tests of unmanned systems.
Sea-news.az citing Reuters, reports that the initiative involves Lightfish unmanned vessels operated by Seasats, which have been used since January to detect illegal border crossings and drug smuggling.
Ten such vessels are currently involved in the trials. The U.S. Department of Defense is considering increasing their number by another 50 units.
According to the Pentagon, the drones have helped detect an average of 452 illegal border crossings per month, apprehend 350 people and prevent around 100 attempts to cross the border illegally.
The unmanned vessels are equipped with electro-optical, infrared and hydroacoustic sensors and can remain in their patrol areas for several months.
