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Chopper Drone Helps Navy Make Cocaine Bust

by Caleb Johnson on April 15, 2010 at 02:55 PM

cocaine bust drone helicopter
A "routine test flight" for a U.S. Navy Fire Scout helicopter drone recently turned into three hours of surveillance and a successful drug bust. According to Popular Science, the MQ-8B Vertical Take-off and Landing UAV (VTUAV) drone caught a boat suspected of carrying cocaine on its radar. With the aid of the remote surveillance, the USS McInerney and U.S. Coast Guard vessels were able to close in as the drug runners stopped to refuel with a fishing boat.

Unmanned aircrafts patrolling the skies are a huge asset to the U.S. Navy. Not only do they provide an extra pair of eyes, but they also keep some service men and women out of harm's way. The U.S. Navy hopes to have more drones in the air soon, but nobody knows exactly when that will happen. Maybe a test flight turned success story like this will encourage the government to liftoff a few more drones sooner rather than later. [From: Ares blog, via: Popular Science]

Tags: aircraft, coast guard, CoastGuard, cocaine, drone, drugs, fire scout, FireScout, helicopter, narcotics, navy, top, uss mcinerney, UssMcinerney

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