Federal authorities are turning to aerial surveillance to keep an eye on Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids and subsequent protests in Los Angeles.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) deployed at least two MQ-9 Reaper drones—also known as the Predator B—to downtown LA on Sunday and Monday, according to flight data and air traffic control (ATC) audio uncovered by social media user Aeroscout and first reported by 404 Media on Tuesday.
CBP has confirmed it is flying Predator drones above the Los Angeles protests, and specifically in support of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), according to a CBP statement sent to 404 Media. The statement follows 404 Media’s reporting that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has flown two Predator drones above Los Angeles, according to flight data and air traffic control (ATC) audio.
The statement is the first time CBP has acknowledged the existence of these drone flights, which over the weekend were done without a callsign, making it more difficult, but not impossible, to determine what model of aircraft was used and by which agency. It is also the first time CBP has said it is using the drones to help ICE during the protests.
“Air and Marine Operations’ [AMO] MQ-9 Predators are supporting our federal law enforcement partners in the Greater Los Angeles area, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement, with aerial support of their operations,” the statement from CBP to 404 Media says. The statement added that “they are providing officer safety surveillance when requested by officers. AMO is not engaged in the surveillance of first amendment activities.” According to flight data reviewed by 404 Media, the drones flew repeatedly above Paramount, where the weekend’s anti-ICE protests started, and downtown Los Angeles, where much of the protest activity moved to.
CBP’s AMO has a fleet of at least 10 MQ-9 drones, according to a CBP presentation available online. Five of these are the Predator B, used for land missions, according to the presentation. These sorts of drones are often equipped with high-powered surveillance equipment, but the statement did not specify what surveillance technology was used during the Los Angeles flights.
The agency said the drones are not equipped with facial recognition software. They have cameras that can identify a weapon or the color of clothing, but these are not strong enough to capture physical characteristics that could identify a person, CBP said.
Aeroscout first noticed a pair of aircraft flying in “hexagonal surveillance orbits” over Los Angeles, without callsigns, and decided to track them on ADS-B Exchange. The aircraft flew through Sector 09 of the city’s Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC).
Based on a cross-reference of flight data with audio archives from LiveATC reviewed by FLYING, a Sector 09 controller appeared to reveal one aircraft call sign: TROY701. It operated for more than nine hours on Sunday evening into Monday morning, flight records show. The second aircraft entered Sector 09 as the first departed, and a controller used the similar call sign TROY703, per audio archives.
Since both aircraft used “TROY” call signs, Aeroscout dug further and discovered they crossed paths near Yuma International Airport (KNYL) in Arizona. As they passed one another, a controller alerted each to the other’s presence, using the abbreviated “Q-9.”
“[TROY7]01, traffic, 12 o’clock, 10 miles, opposite direction, another ‘TROY’ Q-9, FL220,” the controller said, a few moments later adding, “TROY703, traffic 12 o’clock, 8 miles, opposite direction, another ‘TROY’ Q-9 at FL230.”
TROY703 then continued to San Angelo Regional Airport (KSJT) in Texas, where a controller could be heard warning a Phenom of nearby drone traffic before guiding TROY703’s approach. San Angelo just so happens to house Air and Marine Operations’ National Air Security Operations Center (NASOC)—which it describes as a “permanent operational site” for the MQ-9.
CBP began flying the drones two decades ago and uses them primarily to surveil the southern border. It also has an MQ-9 Sea Guardian and fleet of Pilatus PC-12s. However, a VICE investigation found that CBP “regularly” flies the aircraft over cities far from the border.
The Reapers appear to have vacated Los Angeles airspace, per flight radar data on Wednesday. But they were not the only CBP aircraft in the skies. 404 Media also reported that CBP deployed a UH-60 Black Hawk on Sunday, while other federal and local agencies put their own eyes in the sky.
With ICE raids being carried out nationwide and subsequent protests in cities such as Philadelphia and Austin, Texas—where Governor Greg Abbott on Wednesday deployed the state’s National Guard—future Predator B deployments could be in the cards.
*This article was expanded from original sources at 404 Media and FLYING Magazine.
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