“Today, I am proud to highlight the important role played by ICE’s Office of Air and Marine Operations in securing the vital airspace over our nation’s capital on a 24/7 basis, every day of the year,” said Michael J. Garcia, the Department of Homeland Security’s Assistant Secretary for ICE. “There are few more important security missions today than protecting the seat of our federal government from airborne threats and attacks.”

In January 2003, ICE’s Air and Marine Operations (AMO), in partnership with the Defense Department and other agencies, was tasked with creating a coordinated airspace security operation over the National Capitol Region NCR, a roughly 3,000 square-mile span of airspace that includes the three major commercial airports in the area. The goal: to better protect this region against aerial threats. AMO brought to this mission many years of experience protecting America’s borders and critical airspace from illegal activity.

Inserting ICE assets into this effort has had a dramatic impact. In the six months before ICE began participating in local airspace security, there were more than 180 unauthorized aircraft intrusions into the critical 15-mile radius Flight Restricted Zone around the Capitol. While many were intercepted by U.S. military jets, there was no law enforcement system in place to investigate and identify the aircraft in real time.

Since that time, ICE and its partners at the Defense Department and other agencies have created an airspace security system that can identify, investigate, intercept and deter suspicious aircraft. In this period, ICE radar specialists have sorted through millions of radar tracks to investigate and ultimately identify more than 2,000 aircraft “of interest” approaching the D.C. region from afar. ICE flight crews have also launched their aircraft more than 350 times to investigate suspicious inbound aircraft even further.

In the 16 months since the enhanced system began, there have been only about 30 illegal intrusions by aircraft into the critical 15-mile Flight Restricted Zone around the Capitol. Each of these aircraft was tracked, identified, investigated, and found to be non-threatening -- a capacity that was not possible before. Many of the aircraft were intercepted by ICE aircraft and/or U.S. military jets and escorted out of this zone.

These results are a reflection of the coordinated ground and air effort that ICE brings to this mission. On the ground, a cadre of ICE radar detection specialists works with the Defense Department and the Federal Aviation Administration to continually monitor the more than 400 aircraft operating in the vast airspace of the National Capital Region at any given time. Experts at sorting radar, these individuals determine if any aircraft approaching or flying in the area are operating without proper authorization or in a suspicious manner. These specialists operate from the multi-agency National Capital Region Coordination Center in Virginia.

Working closely with the radar detection specialists are ICE flight crews stationed at Reagan National Airport. Operating on a 24/7 basis, these armed ICE crews fly UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters and Cessna Citation interceptor jets equipped with air-to-air radar adapted from U.S. Air Force F-16 aircraft. These assets can get airborne in minutes to identify, investigate, intercept, and escort suspect aircraft out of the region.

For example, on January 28, 2003, a helicopter entered airspace of the National Capital Region and was approaching the critical Flight Restricted Zone. Beneath, President Bush was delivering his State of the Union address to members of Congress and the Cabinet at the Capitol. ICE personnel were tracking the aircraft and launched Black Hawk helicopters to intercept. The Black Hawks and U.S. military jets intercepted the plane, escorted it out of the area, and found that the pilot had mistakenly veered into the region.

New Multi-Role Enforcement Aircraft for Northern Border Unveiled
At the ceremony today, ICE’s AMO unveiled the newest addition to its fleet of more than 130 aircraft. The Pilatus (PC-12) is a sophisticated single-engine turbo-prop aircraft that will replace the aging C-12 aircraft currently in AMO’s fleet. Equipped with an extensive sensor package, the new Pilatus has short-field take-off and landing capabilities enabling it deploy rapidly and operate safely in remote areas.

For these reasons, the aircraft is particularly well suited for the northern border. As part of its interdiction and border security efforts, ICE’s AMO will be deploying the Pilatus to Bellingham, Washington, along the Canadian border to perform a variety of operations.

With a crew of three, the new Pilatus can fly at 270 knots at an altitude of 30,000 feet and with a range of 2,260 miles. The aircraft will substantially enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of AMO operations by reducing operating costs, and by providing increased mission versatility, including air interdiction, aerial surveillance, and logistical support.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is the largest investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), responsible for the enforcement of border, economic, infrastructure and transportation security laws. ICE seeks to prevent acts of terrorism by targeting the people, money and materials that support terror and criminal networks.