Drones vs. Drugs

The American government already uses spy drones to snoop on militants, rescue hurricane victims, and watch the borders. So it was really on a matter of time before the unmanned aircraft were recruited into the drug-busting game, too. U.S. Southern Command recently flew an Israeli-made Heron drone from a base in El Salvador to keep tabs on a suspected drug ferry.
With a 20-hour loiter time, the robo-plane can stay in the air much longer than traditional drug-spotting aircraft, of course. And it’s got a set of sensors better suited for spotting the subs that have become so popular among the narco-cartels.

In recent years, U.S. Southern Command has become a kind of test bed for all sorts of experimental gear. Last year, the command used a high-speed, double-M-shaped prototype ship to chase down drug runners in the Straits of Florida. In 2007, SOUTHCOM toyed with a tricked-out catamaran.
Wired