The U.S. Coast Guard made headlines on Wednesday with the announcement of a record-breaking haul of illicit drugs seized by a single cutter — an achievement made possible with the aid of a vertical drone called the MQ-35 V-BAT.
A Coast Guard spokesperson confirmed to Defense News that the information, first published by Business Insider, is accurate.
The Coast Guard Cutter Stone, a 418-foot national security cutter, unloaded an estimated 49,010 pounds of illicit narcotics at Port Everglades, Florida. The massive haul, valued at an $362 million, was the result of 15 seizures made by the vessel, which used a V-BAT drone to assist in tracking down and intercepting drug smugglers at sea.
The V-BAT, developed by Shield AI, is a vertical drone with maneuverability, resistance to high wind speeds and precision at landing in small spaces has made it ideal for use on ships. It can carry payloads, is highly resilient to electronic warfare attacks including GPS jamming and has a low profile paired with robust fuel capacity that makes ideal of stealth missions.
Equipped with an AI-enabled optical sensor, a V-BAT can seek targets continuously for over 13 hours. It can also be assembled, launched and operated by only two people.
The Coast Guard first finished operationally testing the V-Bat in July. According to its manufacturer, it has deployed on nearly every class of U.S. Navy ship and with all seven Marine Expeditionary Units.
“The continued availability of unmanned aircraft systems capabilities represents a critical addition to the Coast Guard’s airborne surveillance fleet, providing the persistent intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capacity required for effective mission execution across the national security cutters’ diverse operational portfolio,” a Coast Guard spokesperson told Defense News.
Thanks to the V-BAT, the Coast Guard interdicted three smuggling vessels in one night, according to a Business Insider report.
The drone was sent on patrol with a live video feed sent back to the Stone. Using the drone, operators zeroed in on a suspicious vessel, prompting the Coast Guard to dispatch a helicopter. As the drone continued patrolling nearby waters, its video feed spotted the wake, or trail in the water, left by another suspicious vessel. It continued its duties and eventually discovered a third smuggling vessel.
The drone was able to continue surveillance nonstop while law enforcement personnel halted the vessels and made arrests. Use of the V-BAT led to the arrests of seven suspected narcotics traffickers and a total of 12,000 pounds of cocaine seized from the three vessels.
Zita Ballinger Fletcher previously served as editor of Military History Quarterly and Vietnam magazines and as the historian of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. She holds an M.A. with distinction in military history.
