In the Sky! A Plane? Bird? No, it’s a CBP ‘Blimp’–New Border Tech

What is an aerotstat?  An offshoot of the rock band Aerosmith? Nope!

 New giant Army devices  float  high above the border

Aerotstat is a fancy name for a giant balloon, and the US Army has begun to utilize them. They began testing them not long ago, at the Yuma (AZ) Proving  Grounds. 

The Army utilizes them with sophisticated radar and other surveillance tools, and they often operate at altitudes up to 15,000 feet.

  US Customs and Border Patrol has now put one into service at the Big Ben Sector near Sanderson, Texas. It's launched and controlled from a large family ranch.

The aerostats are unmanned, and according to CBP:

"The aerostat, a Department of Defense asset, enhances aerial surveillance capabilities in the Sanderson station’s area of responsibility and is monitored 24 hours a day."

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According to the US Army, their primary use is for security, monitoring  and spotting low  flying  aircraft.  They're deployed to search for 'quieter' movements and trafficking that tries to be unnoticed. The low-flying aircraft are often used by drug cartels.

According to the US Army:

"Part of a six-aerostat team forming a radar fence along the southern United States, it's watching for drugs being flown across the international border."

They fly high enough that they're not reachable by most weaponry used by cartels or even human smugglers-traffickers who lead illegals over the border.