The US Air Force is retiring its fleet of RC-26 Condor surveillance aircraft, which are "equipped with specialized digital cameras, IR video, and communications equipment to enable domestic and international anti-trafficking. The aircraft has a secondary role providing real-time video streaming to responders following hurricanes, wildfires, and other disasters."
In its domestic mission as part of the National Guard’s Counter-drug Program, the RC-26B was a surveillance asset, using its onboard sensors to identify and track suspects, for example. Suspicious activities observed by the aircraft’s crew would be provided to law enforcement authorities. In this way, there was a significant reduction in the kinds of high-speed pursuits that can be notably hazardous for law enforcement personnel, and civilians.
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