Air and Space: How Many Drones Are Smuggling Drugs Across the U.S. Southern Border?

Air and Space: How Many Drones Are Smuggling Drugs Across the U.S. Southern Border?

By Tim Wright

    Recently, drones have become a large part of illegal drug trade. Smugglers once used boats and low flying planes to cater drugs across the US-Mexico border. They could carry larger payloads but were easy to find and track. Drones, however, go undetected by most radar systems and can use predetermined flight patterns to prevent tracing.

    The drug-smuggling drones are called narcodrones and have only recently entered the picture as companies started selling commercial drones to the general public. Previously, they couldn't take much payload, but the new ones by companies like DJI can carry much more.

    Most radars operate on L and S frequencies which are fine for tracking big planes at high altitude. But these waves are too big to catch the small drones. To detect drones, X band frequencies must be used. But the problem with that is that they don't reflect well off non-metal objects, which is a problem as drone parts are replaced with cheaper composites.

    Furthermore, drones can sit and watch the border with cameras for hours until it is safe to go across. So what is the plan for stopping them? Jamming and spoofing, as well as drone shooting or collisions, which are regularly used by the military, are banned because the drones fly over civilian populations, and it could cause mayhem. The department in charge of the border actually doesn't have any plans right now, and this is a quickly evolving battle.