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Unmanned Systems

Small Drones Improve Border Patrol’s Operations But Limitations Exist, DHS IG Says

By Cal Biesecker

Thursday, August 27th, 2026

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Small Drones Improve Border Patrol’s Operations But Limitations Exist, DHS IG Says

Skydio X10D small drone. Photo: Skydio

The Border Patrol’s use of small drones over the past few years have demonstrated key benefits such as the ability to gain rapid situational awareness and lower costs versus other platforms but challenges with the number of suppliers, technical failures, maintenance issues and an aging fleet have limited the agency’s ability to fully leverage the technology to meet operational requirements, the Department of Homeland Security’s Inspector General (IG) says in a new report. As for the advantages of the small…

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