WE WANT A SMALLER FOOTPRINT.
WE DON'T WANT THESE EXTREMELY LARGE AIRCRAFT,
WHERE YOU GO PLACES AND YOU GET REALLY NOTICED.
THIS IS ACTUALLY A FAIRLY INEXPENSIVE PLATFORM TO OPERATE, ALL THINGS CONSIDERED.
THEY REFER TO THIS AS THE MULTI-ROLE ENFORCEMENT AIRCRAFT.
MULTI ROLE, MEANING IT CAN DO A LOT OF THINGS.
YEAH, THIS IS THE FUTURE.
WE'RE GONNA GO PROBABLY THIS SIZE AND SMALLER.
WE'VE BEEN OPERATING C-12'S AND CITATIONS FOR 20-30 YEARS NOW.
SO, WE EXPECT THESE AIRCRAFT TO LAST A VERY LONG TIME.
WE CAN ACTUALLY DO GROUND SURVEILLANCE WITH THIS,
LAND INTERDICTION, MARITIME INTERDICTION.
WE'RE LOOKING SOMETIMES AT PEOPLE, VEHICLES, BOTH LAND AND SEA.
WE'RE AFTER THE TYPICAL BAD GUY, TRYING TO BRING IN ILLEGAL ALIENS,
OR DRUGS OR PARAPHERNALIA ITEMS.
IF I WAS OUT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT AND I WAS ON THE GROUND,
THE AIRCRAFT COULD BE VISUALLY IDENTIFYING ME,
AND WHAT I'M DOING, RECORDING IT ON THAT CAMERA SYSTEM,
TRANSMITTING THAT INFORMATION BACK TO WHOEVER TO RESPOND TO ME ON THE GROUND,
AND I WOULD HAVE NO SENSE THAT THERE WAS AN AIRCRAFT WATCHING ME.
THE ONBOARD RADAR IS CAPABLE OF
BASICALLY LOOKING THROUGH CLOUDS AND CLASSIFYING VESSELS.
IT WILL TRACK THROUGH THE CLOUDS AND FOG, NO PROBLEM AT ALL.
THE SENSORS TAKE CARE OF COMMUNICATIONS,
WE TALK TO THE PEOPLE OUTSIDE THE AIRCRAFT,
AND THE PILOTS WILL TAKE CARE OF AIRCRAFT SAFETY.
THIS IS A REAL PILOT'S AIRPLANE.
THE AVIONICS SUITE IS BASICALLY AIMED AT WORKLOAD REDUCTION,
IT'S AN INCREDIBLY SAFE AIRCRAFT.
THE AUTOMATION IS INCREDIBLE ON IT.
THE CONFIGURATION OF THIS AIRCRAFT
IS SINGULAR TO THE CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION.
BEFORE, YOU'D RECEIVE IT AT THE BRANCH AND THAT'S THE FIRST TIME YOU' SEE IT.
"OH, WOW. NOW WE'VE GOT TO LEARN THIS SYSTEM,"
AND GO FROM THERE.
WHERE, NOW WE'RE INTEGRATED PRETTY EARLY IN THE PROCESS.
AS WE POPULATE THE FLEET WITH A SINGLE AIRFRAME,
THE LOGISTICS OF MAINTAINING PARTS IS SIMPLER,
THE TRAINING PIECE IS SIMPLER AND LESS EXPENSIVE, SO IT'S GOOD BUSINESS.
THE PEOPLE HERE IN HAGERSTOWN
COME WITH A VARIETY OF BACKGROUNDS IN THEIR PROFESSION.
SO, WE'RE ABLE TO HIRE THE BEST OF THE BEST TO COME HERE.
WE GET FEEDBACK FROM THE OPERATORS FROM CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION.
ONE OF THE INTERESTING THINGS WAS TRYING TO GET THE ENGINEERS
TO UNDERSTAND OUR CONCEPT OF OPERATIONS;
WHAT WE ARE TRYING TO DO WITH THIS AIRCRAFT,
AS THEY DEVELOPED SOFTWARE AND CAPABILITIES ON THE SENSORS.
WE'VE HAD A MULTITUDE OF SUGGESTIONS.
WHICH ALLOWS US TO TWEAK THE SYSTEMS TO MAKE ADJUSTMENTS
TO ENHANCE THE INDIVIDUAL CAPABILITIES IN A COMPLETE AND INTEGRATED PACKAGE.
AND IF IT'S SOMETHING EASY, THEY'LL SLIP IT IN THERE
AND THEY'LL HELP US OUT WITH THAT, SO THEY'VE BEEN REAL GOOD ABOUT THAT.
IT'S A TEAM EFFORT, ALL OF TOGETHER MAKE THE ACTUAL MISSION COMPLETE.
IT'S BEEN GREAT TO COME UP HERE AND ACTUALLY SEE IT FROM ALMOST DAY ONE.
EVERYTHING WE HAD BEFORE WAS '70S - '80'S TECHNOLOGY.
WE FEEL LIKE WE'RE ON A MORE LEVEL PLAYING FIELD WITH THE TECHNOLOGY OUT THERE NOW.