U.S. Reps. Henry Cuellar, Michael McCaul and Blake Farenthold of Texas announced the delivery of the long-awaited Predator drone Tuesday.
Officials announced in July that Texas would get a second drone to patrol its 1,254-mile border with Mexico. Along with another planned for Arizona, the drone brings CBP's total to six on the Southwest border.
The new Texas drone will be based at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi with the existing one, which also patrolled the Gulf of Mexico.
The Predator can fly for 20 hours without refueling, extending by many hours the surveillance capability of a helicopter. Flight crews control the planes remotely.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press.
