How Drone Boats Are Working As Patrols On The Southern Border

BusinessAerospace & DefenseHow Drone Boats Are Working As Patrols On The Southern BorderByZita Ballinger Fletcher,Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Zita Ballinger Fletcher is a defense technology reporterFollow AuthorJun 05, 2026, 07:26pm EDTTexas State Troopers patrol the Rio Grande at the U.S.-Mexico border on August 18, 2016, a corridor long used by drug trafficking vessels. Now autonomous surface vessels, widely known as drone boats, are actively monitoring the area. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)Getty ImagesThe Pentagon’s Joint Task Force Southern Border, activated in March of last year, is using autonomous Unmanned Surface Vessels, or USVs, to patrol vast stretches of the Rio Grande to deter drug smugglers. Also known as drone boats, these vessels are working as security patrols alongside law enforcement and military personnel – with the added advantage of finding blind spots and monitoring areas that are difficult to access. The Defense Department disclosed that manufacturer Seasats is supply the task force with its solar-powered Lightfish vessels for the Southern Border mission. A Self-Driving Early Warning SystemA contractor operates a Seasats Lightfish, an Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV), in the Rio Grande river in Texas in January 2026. The USV is solar-powered and used to monitor illegal activity the area. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Jacob D. Harrell)U.S. Defense DepartmentSeasats previously worked with the U.S. Navy to send the Lightfish on a nonstop voyage across the Atlantic to Portugal last year, with the vessel breaking speed records when it reached its destination a just over two months after launching from Florida. MORE FOR YOUIt is now being used to augment U.S. Coast Guard vessels and other military and law enforcement vessels tasked with patrolling the Rio Grande. Seasats CEO Mike Flanigan said in an interview that the Lightfish is geared towards providing detection and early warning to member...