The United States Coast Guard has announced a record seizure of 49,010 pounds of illicit drugs, valued at $362 million, at Port Everglades, Florida, thanks in part to the use of a vertical drone, the MQ-35 V-BAT. The haul came from 15 separate interdictions carried out by the Cutter Stone, a 418-foot national security vessel.
The V-BAT, developed by Shield AI, is a vertical drone equipped with AI-enabled optical sensors, capable of continuous surveillance for over 13 hours. It can operate in high winds, resist GPS jamming, and requires only two personnel to assemble, launch, and operate. Its capabilities allowed operators to locate multiple smuggling vessels at sea, sending live video back to the Stone and guiding helicopter interventions.
During one operation, the drone helped identify three vessels in a single night, leading to the arrest of seven suspected traffickers and the seizure of 12,000 pounds of cocaine. The Coast Guard emphasizes that unmanned aircraft systems like the V-BAT are becoming "a critical addition" to their surveillance and interdiction operations. Recently, Shield AI unveiled the X-BAT, which you can see in the video below.
For more details, check out Business Insider.
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