(C) Arizona Mirror
This story was originally published by Arizona Mirror and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .
CBP is flying surveillance aircraft over Phoenix ICE operations [1]
['Jerod Macdonald-Evoy', 'Gloria Rebecca Gomez', 'More From Author', '- June', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Coauthors.Is-Layout-Flow', 'Class', 'Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus', 'Display Inline', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar', 'Where Img']
Date: 2025-06
Customs and Border Protection has been flying surveillance aircraft over the Phoenix area in support of Homeland Security Investigations, a division of Immigration Customs Enforcement.
But little is known about what type of aircraft is monitoring operations on the ground or what role it is playing, and the agency has said it won’t elaborate.
On Tuesday morning, federal officials with HSI descended upon a Peoria neighborhood, where witnesses told the Arizona Mirror they had witnessed multiple agents use flash bangs and use a battering ram to enter a house. Yasmeen Pitts O’Keefe, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, said the case involved narcotics and human smuggling. She said that one person was arrested on federal charges and another was turned over to immigration officials.
While agents were on the ground, an aircraft that gave the callsign “TROY73” to air traffic controllers circled overhead at 9500 feet. The aircraft later landed at the Phoenix-Mesa Gateway airport, where “ICE Air” has its operational headquarters and where another aircraft operated by CBP landed later in the day.
That other aircraft was a Department of Homeland Security Blackhawk helicopter that went by the callsign “TROY215.”
It is unclear what type of aircraft “TROY73” was, as CBP refused to give any information. The data published by ADSB Exchange that the Mirror reviewed only shows snippets of the aircraft’s activity, which includes landings and take-offs at Arizona Air Force bases.
The “TROY” callsign has been used by other CBP aircraft across the country.
“Air and Marine Operations (AMO) Tucson Air Branch routinely provides aerial support to federal law enforcement partners conducting operations throughout Arizona,” CBP said in a statement to the Mirror. “Due to law enforcement sensitivities, we cannot comment on the specific support given to partner agencies.”
On Wednesday, the Mirror also observed another aircraft flying at a much higher altitude than the one spotted in Peoria that had also previously landed at both Luke Air Force Base and Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. CBP did not respond to follow-up questions asking for clarification on what aircraft were used and if protesters, who were present in Peoria, had been surveilled by the aircraft.
AMO’s Aircraft
AMO’s aircraft have been flying in other areas of the country during ICE operations, most notably Los Angeles.
404 Media first reported that AMO has been flying MQ-9 Reaper drones to support ICE during the protests that have been taking place. The AMO’s Predator Operations Center is based out of Davis-Monthan in Tucson.
However, the aircraft that flew over Peoria could have been any number of aircraft that are part of AMO’s fleet.
AMO employs smaller single-engine aircraft, such as a Cessna 260H/T206H that can fly between 15,700 and 27,000 feet and is used to conduct “surveillance, tracking and reconnaissance,” according to AMO’s own factsheet on the aircraft.
“AMO’s fleet of Stationairs are effective platforms for law enforcement operations in both large metropolitan and remote rural areas,” AMO’s factsheet says. “These aircraft have longer range and endurance than helicopters and an appearance that blends effectively with the civil aviation fleet.”
AMO also employs aircraft similar to ones used by local law enforcement, such as Beechcraft King Airs, which the Arizona Department of Public Safety uses, and a Pilatus PC-12, which the Phoenix Police Department employs.
The Beechcraft is used for “aerial patrols, prisoner transports and surveillance” and is outfitted with a high-end spectral imaging camera. The company that makes the camera, L3 Wescam, shows off the Yuma County Courthouse in a promotional video of the camera’s capabilities.
The PC-12, which is similar to an aircraft used by the military, uses “state-of-the-art sensor equipment for detecting, tracking, and surveillance operations that require standoff range from surveillance target to avoid counter detection” and the aircraft has “on-board video recorders” to “document suspect activities for evidentiary use,” according to the factsheet.
Much like the PC-12 used by the Phoenix Police Department, the AMO PC-12 has a laser designator, allowing the pilots to maintain a lock on with their camera and sensors.
AMO also has a fleet of Super King Air 350ER aircraft, that much like the PC-12, are equipped with a host of high-tech surveillance tech.
Other aircraft in AMO’s fleet likely would not have been used over Peoria or the rest of Phoenix as they are utilized for tracking weather or threats at special events.
This is not the first time high powered surveillance aircraft have been flown over Phoenix residents.
The Mirror exclusively reported that the Arizona National Guard flew a surveillance plane in support of the Phoenix Police Department in 2020 to monitor Black Lives Matter protests and a report by the U.S. Air Force Inspector General later concluded that doing so deterred protesters.
[END]
---
[1] Url:
https://azmirror.com/briefs/cbp-is-flying-surveillance-aircraft-over-phoenix-ice-operations/
Published and (C) by Arizona Mirror
Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.
via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/azmirror/
