Mexican UAV Crashes Across Border in El Paso

[roo_ster]

http://www.elpasotimes.com/news/ci_16875462?source=rss

Hey, now stop that sniggering while imagining just how a "Mexican UAV" might be constructed!

Read the article and note how obsequious are our federal masters to the MExican gov't.

[vaskidmark]

Well, it's not like we were looking at something filled with technology we do not already have.  (OK, tha's a guess.  But it's Mexico fer gawd's sake, not the eviill empire.)

But what they are doing flying spy kites over the border does raise all sorts of questions.  I am very curious what they have been surveilling and where that information has gone.  I also have some suspicions that border (pardon the pun) on the highly suspicious.

stay safe.

[Jamisjockey]

Just a hunch, but I bet you they got it from us to begin with.
They were probably looking for all those gun show guns being smuggled into Mexico.

[HankB]

It's sickening the way people in "our" government appear to have fallen over themselves in order to return it to Mexico ASAP . . . if I had crashed an RC aircraft in someone's backyard, I wonder how long it would take me to get it back?

Some scenarios come to mind . . .

* A "probe" of our airborne border security . . .

* Test run for smuggling drugs via UAV . . .

* Seeking out a way to find a safe path for "coyotes" running illegals across the border . . .

[White Horseradish]

Mexican government is abbreviated GOM? Well, now we know who the GOMers are...

[AZRedhawk44]

I would have dissected it, datamined the information inside it, learned what I could from its construction, and used the parts for my own evil designs.

Maybe send it back across the border at max speed to nose dive into its origin GPS coordinates.     Aluminum-drone shower.

Keep your crap in your country, Mexico!

[Tallpine]

The Mexicans probably bought it at a gun show in San Antonio 

[HankB]

The Mexicans probably bought it at a gun show in San Antonio 

Probably not - no mention of bomb racks in the story.

[Hawkmoon]

I confess to having started a duplicate thread before seeing this one. The article seemed to suggest that the "UAV" was or Israeli manufacture, but I wasn't clear if Mexico bought it from Israel or if we gave/sold it to them.

Micro, got any info on these little toys?

[Boomhauer]

Don't forget the reports of Mexican military aircraft flying across our border and landing in support of smugglers...

[wuluf]

90% of all Mexican drones can be traced to US drone shops...

[MicroBalrog]

I confess to having started a duplicate thread before seeing this one. The article seemed to suggest that the "UAV" was or Israeli manufacture, but I wasn't clear if Mexico bought it from Israel or if we gave/sold it to them.

Micro, got any info on these little toys?

I posted about them previously. The company site claims they're a portable design intended to be launched by a small ground crew anywhere.

Why are we sure this was deliberate?

I know of a case where an IDF platoon - equipped with tactical GPS devices no less - accidentally crossed the Egyptian border, crossed the highway running along the border on the Egyptian side, and walked 200 meters into Egypt before someone called them back. I also know of a case where an IDF armored unit opened fire (!) on an infantry unit where they didn't know the unit was supposed to be there. There are precedents where Soviet special forces accidentally [!] deployed in Pakistan. Why could these people not have gotten off course? They're the Mexican military, I doubt they're the world's best navigators.

[roo_ster]

I posted about them previously. The company site claims they're a portable design intended to be launched by a small ground crew anywhere.

Why are we sure this was deliberate?

I know of a case where an IDF platoon - equipped with tactical GPS devices no less - accidentally crossed the Egyptian border, crossed the highway running along the border on the Egyptian side, and walked 200 meters into Egypt before someone called them back. I also know of a case where an IDF armored unit opened fire (!) on an infantry unit where they didn't know the unit was supposed to be there. There are precedents where Soviet special forces accidentally [!] deployed in Pakistan. Why could these people not have gotten off course? They're the Mexican military, I doubt they're the world's best navigators.

All that is true.  There does happen to be a river between the two countries at that part of the border that might provide a hint...

Frankly, I would not be one bit surprised if it was bought by the narco-warlords and used for their purposes, or the Mex military users were working for the narco-warlords.

[MicroBalrog]

Which is why I brought up the highway incident. :D

[gunsmith]

90% of all Mexican drones can be traced to US drone shops...

 
hahahahah that was great!!

[Jim147]

They're the Mexican military, I doubt they're the world's best navigators.

That's a sig line if I ever saw one.

jim

[Jamisjockey]

All that is true.  There does happen to be a river between the two countries at that part of the border that might provide a hint...

Frankly, I would not be one bit surprised if it was bought by the narco-warlords and used for their purposes, or the Mex military users were working for the narco-warlords.

Depending on where you are, the river isn't all that obvious.  While I wouldn't rule out malicious intent, I wouldn't rule out stupidity, either.

[Tallpine]

Depending on where you are, the river isn't all that obvious.  While I wouldn't rule out malicious intent, I wouldn't rule out stupidity, either.

[X] All of the above.

[seeker_two]

"Unmanned" in Mexican military terms probably means a woman was flying it....

[Scout26]

Ummm, if you mapquest the address where it crashed  

The drone crashed Tuesday on Craddock Avenue, near the intersection with Yarbrough Drive.

You'll see that it's maybe a good three wood from the border.

So chances are it was probably on their side when whatever it was happened that caused it to turn into an oversized paper airplane and glide onto our size of the fence.  Considering that these generally operate at a couple of thousand feet, crashing about 4 blocks in US territory looks more like a whoopsie, then ZOMG!! Pancho Villa is at it again !!!1111nineteenseventeeny.....

Sorry, take off the foil beanies and carefully stow them away until next time....

[RocketMan]

The simplest explanation is often the right one.  And the simplest would seem to be a boo-boo on somebody's part.
But I wouldn't put it past a cartel using a UAV to scout routes and BP locations.

[Scout26]

The simplest explanation is often the right one.  And the simplest would seem to be a boo-boo on somebody's part.
But I wouldn't put it past a cartel using a UAV to scout routes and BP locations.

Probably more like the Mexican Army/LE using it along thier side of the border when it wen Tango-Uniform, the glided/crashed on our side of the border.

[Tallpine]

Probably more like the Mexican Army/LE using it along thier side of the border when it wen Tango-Uniform, the glided/crashed on our side of the border.

Well, maybe the mexicans are actually starting to do something to stop all those evil guns from being smuggled in from the USSA 

[Pharmacology]