Border agents to use aerostat in Florida Keys to track illegal immigration, drug smuggling

Sept. 17 (UPI) -- Later this month, a tethered balloon over the Florida Keys will help border agents monitor for illegal activities.

The Air and Marine Operations arm of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency will launch this month its "Argos 2" blimp-like surveillance system over Cudjoe Key to further enhance satellite tracking for illegal immigration or other illicit activities, the government said Tuesday.

The blimp-like aerostat dubbed "Argos 2" will launch sometime this month with a "Tethered Aerostat Radar System," which since 1980 has been in operation, according to a U.S. Customers and Border Protection news release .

TARS uses helium to send the balloon as high as 10,000 to 12,000 feet, officials said, adding that the altitude allows long-range radars to overcome line-of-sight restrictions caused by the curvature of the earth.

CBP says the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has "seen upticks in transportation avenues and conveyances for illegal smuggling, fishing and immigration activities."

The border protection agency says TARS is being brought on to help CBP and the Department of Homeland Security further enhance their ability to confront immigration and other illegal activities, such as the smuggling illicit narcotics.

AMO operates eight sites along the U.S. southern border from Arizona in the west to the island of Puerto Rico in the east in the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea.

When not in service, the aerostat is lowered to the ground and tethered to a winch system.

Manufactured by the Delaware-based engineering development and manufacturing company ILC Dover LP, the aerostat detects and tracks a majority of suspicious air traffic along America's borders, the government said.

According to CBP, the 186-foot long TARS has proven to be an "important and cost-effective tool" in the ongoing fight to thwart illegal drug and human smuggling since it first was deployed in the United States more than 30 years ago.

From 2014-2020, the TARS was key in detecting about 68% of all flights suspected of smuggling contraband or people while attempting to enter the U.S. Southwest from Mexico.

The powerful surveillance tools equipped on it provide border monitoring, and enforcement if need be, for lower-flying aircraft or other vessels trying to gain entry into the United States.

The helium-filled TARS provides panoramic, long-range surveillance of the ground from altitudes as high as 10,000 to 12,000 feet for longer periods of time with an approximate 200 mile range.

Past deployments have been successful to compliment CBP's border security posture and "expanded its situational awareness capabilities," the agency said, adding that the monitoring system also has been of use to other local and state law enforcement agencies, including the U.S. Coast Guard.