CONGRESSMAN CUELLAR SECURES ADDITIONAL CONSTRUCTION OF HANGAR FOR UAV OPERATIONS ALONG SOUTHWEST BORDER
Written by admin, Jun 14, 2011, 0 Comments
Courtesy Jose Borjon,Washington, D.C. – Congressman Henry Cuellar (TX-28) included legislation in the fiscal year 2012 Military Construction and Veterans Appropriations Act that would bolster security on the U.S.-Mexico border. The bill directs the Army National Guard and the Air National Guard to position a hangar on the border that would provide for stationing of additional UAVs (unmanned aerial systems.) The bill passed the U.S. House of Representatives Tuesday afternoon by a vote of 411 to 5.
The bill calls for the Army National Guard and the Air National Guard to design and construct a hangar on the southwest border that could house additional UAVs in addition to supporting National Guard, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and other law enforcement agencies for terrestrial, maritime and aerial surveillance of the border.
“Texas has 1,200 miles of border with Mexico, and we only have one UAV that patrols miles and miles of the border,” Congressman Cuellar said. “This legislation directs the Army National Guard and Air National Guard to look at additional locations on the southwest border where we can strategically locate an additional hangar and house UAVs in the near future. As UAVs prove to be effective in our daily efforts to combat border violence, it is necessary to work on securing more hangars, especially as we prepare to receive additional UAVs in Texas.”
Two UAV systems are on order as part of H.R. 6080, the 2010 Emergency Border Security Supplemental Appropriations Bill, to be delivered by the end of 2011. While the Department of Homeland Security has not determined where these systems will be assigned, Congressmen Cuellar and Michael McCaul sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano on April 27, 2011, urging DHS to station both in Texas along its border with Mexico.
Presently, of the four UAVs located on the southern border, three are stationed in Arizona while one, which is classified as a maritime unit, is based in Texas. The Texas UAV is assigned to the Corpus Christi Naval Air Station to perform surveillance of both the border region and Gulf of Mexico. Texas, however, shares 1,254 miles of border with Mexico compared with Arizona’s 370-mile boundary.
The UAV stationed in Corpus Christi, a Guardian Maritime Variant delivered February 2011, carries unique technology used for maritime haze filtration. In addition it carries the same surveillance technology used over land in the Predator-B.
The bill now moves to the Senate for consideration.
