[shotgun]

That sensor/drone combination sounds pretty cool. Imagine if a drone launched and records the area and activity then drops down in front of the person or group and takes hi-res facial pictures. Then as backup arrives within 100 yards, drops tear gas and disabled the Group.

Hi-res photos go into a national database for future use in deportation hearings

[USNBandit]

The procurement issues with CBP are systemic. They are a combination of inept management, bureaucratic inertia, and oversight functions which only exist to gauge the process, not the product. The management does a poor job producing requirements and selecting products to meet those requirements. Lots of money moves around with horribly written contracts.

CBP operated Predator B for 10 years with little or no capability for their mission because the idiot in charge CBP Air was in love with predators. There is now emerging tech on those UAS, but they could be flying that much cheaper on a number of manned platforms.

CBP Air contracts are of a size that they are often ripe for set asides to “minority” contractors. The procurement disasters have been many, the successes few. It’s bad enough that nothing can be bought without oversight from big DHS.