Customs copters start to arrive

The first of ten EC120 helicopters ordered by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) have been delivered. The helicopters have been procured by CBP for low-level surveillance and security missions over U.S. borders and to detect and prevent illegal immigration and other illegal activities. The EC120’s advanced quiet technology factored in its selection not only for the obvious stealth reasons: CBP also has to bear in mind the disturbance noisier helicopters would create in some of the sensitive wildlife areas where it operates.

The helicopters are manufactured in France by Eurocopter Group, a division of EADS, the parent company of Airbus. Last year Eurocopter Group was the world’s top helicopter manufacturer, with a 52 percent market share in the civil and public-sector markets.