The Department of Homeland Security's Science and Technology Directorate (DHS S&T) has commenced an effort to demonstrate its aerial surveillance technologies in support of security at the U.S.-Canada border.
S&T said Thursday it is working with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), U.S. Border Patrol, the U.S. Coast Guard, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Department of Defense (DOD) to trial and eventually implement these technologies.
“Over the next two years, we will be hosting demonstrations and test events in four different geographical regions on the northern border—flat lowland plains, an urban setting, a mountainous region and a maritime environment," said Teddy Damour, an engineer at the directorate's National Urban Security Technology Laboratory
The Congress-supported effort will make use of small unmanned aircraft systems and other types of drones to simulate air domain threats.
DHS expects to conduct the effort's first wave of tests at Camp Grafton in North Dakota this spring. Each of the demonstration's four sessions will last for a week with the participation of up to four vendors per session.
