War-zone surveillance comes home as Predator drones fly loops over Arizona border towns

An MQ-1 Predator drone, deregistered from FAA tracking, has been spotted flying loops around Arizona border towns like San Luis and Nogales as part of Operation Ardent Vanguard, a military-DHS collaboration under Trump's 2025 border emergency declaration. NORTHCOM would not confirm details, citing operational security, though it previously touted the aircraft's use in its own materials.

The drone is operated by soldiers from Fort Huachuca's 1st Combat Aviation Brigade, veterans of deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq, and carries sensor capabilities that worry privacy advocates like the ACLU's Jay Stanley. Neither NORTHCOM nor DHS answered questions about who owns data collected on U.S. citizens incidentally captured by the flights, and DHS did not explain why it's using the Army's drones instead of its own existing fleet.

An internal audit found the border mission has cost the military $2.64 billion, only 12% of which qualifies for DHS reimbursement. Separately, military contractors have flown surveillance aircraft along the border equipped with technology that can mimic cell towers to track mobile phones.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.