In development of a ceremony held at the Naval Base ARC Bolívar, in which participated the Admiral Craig Faller (Commander of the Southern Command of the United States), the General Luis Fernando Navarro Jiménez (General Commander of the Military Forces) and the Admiral Gabriel Pérez Garcés (Commander of the National Navy) with his respective entourage, the United States government delivered units and elements for the Navy, in order to strengthen the resources of the National Navy in the fight against drug trafficking and transnational threats present in the region.
One of the items delivered were five basic 25-feet Guardian Boats that will be for the Navy Infantry units to strengthen river interception operations, routine patrols and support humanitarian operations. Also was delivered a 27-feet boat to transport personnel during military tactical diving tasks. These boats have a capacity to carry up to 12 men with an autonomy of up to seven hours and will replace part of the original fleet that has already served and that was donated through Plan Colombia few years ago.
In the same act were delivered four Unmanned Aircraft Systems consisting of 12 aircraft, two ground control stations and two cameras. These equipment have an autonomy of 90 minutes and a range of 10 kilometers. The RAVEN RQ-11 Unmanned Aircraft, will allow the Navy Infantry to carry out naval operations with the permanent support of this type of units. Initially, they will be in operations of the Navy Infantry Brigades No. 2 and No. 4, in Buenaventura, Valle del Cauca and Tumaco, Nariño; municipalities where the Pilot Plan will took place by 10 operators who were recently trained.
Source: press-Navy of Colombia