Technicians stand next to a Heron drone to be used in a surveillance demonstration related to El Salvador's anti-drug operations, at the second military air base in Comalapa, on Wednesday, May 13, 2009. Luis Romero / APFrom Time Magazine:
For weeks, U.S. and Salvadoran counternarcotics officials had been watching a boat they suspected was ferrying drugs to and from El Salvador's Pacific coast. But to be sure, they needed a plane that could stay aloft over the ocean, undetected, long enough to get detailed surveillance imaging. So last month the Defense Department's Southern Command (Southcom) suggested this would be a good opportunity to help determine whether an unmanned air vehicle (UAV) being tested at El Salvador's Comalapa Air Base might be the future of drug interdiction.
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My Comment: One of the many new applications that will be developed as drones become more sophisticated and reliable in providing intelligence.