see also: in September 2005 Press Releases:   U.S. Customs and Border Protection Stands Down Hurricane Operations in the Gulf Coast Area   40th CBP Container Security Initiative Port Operational   CBP Makes History with the Launch of Predator B   CBP Border Patrol Agents Seize 1,134 Pounds of Marijuana   U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officer Apprehends Fedex Bandit   CBP Employees Recognized for their Outstanding Contributions to Public Service at 2005 Service to America Awards Ceremony   CBP Pilot’s Heroic Efforts Save the Lives of 22 People Abandoned in the Desert ...more on cbp.gov:   CBP News Releases   Press Officers

contacts for this news release

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Air P-3 Airborne Early Warning (AEW) and Long-Range Tracker (LRT) aircraft crews have over the last two weeks, flown sight unseen, high above the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, providing constant aerial support that is critical to search and rescue operations and critical relief efforts. Since the beginning of this crisis, these crews have flown more than 20 hours a day providing coordination of search and rescue missions, real-time communications links and real-time video to disaster-response planners.

Operating out of Corpus Christi, TX and Jacksonville, FL, the AEW’s mission, routinely flown at 16,500 feet, is to scan the Katrina-affected area using its high-powered radar to provide a real-time air picture that enables the crew to supply advisory information to first responders, technical teams, military units, and any one of the over 600-900 aircraft sorties operating every day in the restricted airspace above the damaged area.

These AEW aircraft, much like the U.S. Air Force Airborne Warning and Control System (AWAC’s), are capable of searching a 200,000 square mile radius every eight seconds. Using their radar to produce an air picture over the Katrina ravaged site, the aircrews provide an advisory service that de-conflicts, or organizes, incoming and outgoing air traffic, allowing a safe, uninterrupted flow of personnel and resources.

With an extensive communications suite, the AEW’s also function as a flying communications tower. With ground-based communications systems knocked out, the AEW’s have been providing communications services that allow the first responder network of fire, police and other emergency services to talk to each other.

Working in tandem with the AEW’s, the P-3 LRT’s on scene have been flying daily video assessment missions. The LRTs, which fly at a lower altitude of 2,500 feet, initially served the needs of FEMA’s Rapid Needs Assessment (RNA) teams.

Launching at the first opportunity after the passage of the storm, these aircraft provided a real-time video down link to FEMA’s headquarters and a multitude of other governmental agencies, allowing emergency managers to coordinate the insertion of the RNA teams, flying aboard CBP Black Hawk helicopters, into the most critical areas. This on-demand function gave the assessment teams vital information on where to focus their resources.

In addition to supporting FEMA’s work, the LRT has also provided real-time situational awareness to the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division operating in New Orleans. By providing the same real-time video down link to the 82’s headquarters element, the troops on the ground were able to more effectively deploy and concentrate their search efforts.

The LRT crews have also employed the technology of the onboard Forward-Looking Infrared Radar (FLIR) cameras, detecting eight new fires in one night that were invisible to the naked eye. Fire and rescue teams were then directed to these hot spots and were able to contain the blazes before they could spread and become a larger problem.

While continuing to support the Katrina relief effort, CBP Air recently received a request from FEMA to duplicate this air and communications support in preparation for the landfall of Hurricane Ophelia, which is currently approaching the Outer Banks of the Carolinas. CBP aircraft and crews are preparing in coordination with FEMA in the event that they are needed for similar missions later this week.

These same CBP Air P-3 aircrews continue to play a critical role in stopping drugs, terrorists, and illegal aliens from entering the United States. Flying missions over the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, these crews have led to the seizure of over 100,000 pounds of cocaine so far this year.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control, and protection of our Nation’s borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.