CBP Air and Marine Operations Overview

CBP Air and Marine Operations (AMO) is the law enforcement component of U.S. Customs and Border Protection responsible for airborne and maritime border security across the United States, its territories, and international zones of cooperation. AMO operates the largest civilian federal law enforcement air force in the world, maintaining aircraft and marine vessels to detect, interdict, and respond to threats before they reach U.S. borders. The scope and operational reach of AMO distinguish it from ground-based CBP components, making it a critical layer of the broader CBP border security operations framework.

Definition and scope

Air and Marine Operations functions as the aviation and maritime enforcement arm within CBP's organizational hierarchy. Authorized under Title 19 of the United States Code and operating under the Department of Homeland Security, AMO deploys agents with full federal law enforcement authority — including the power to carry firearms, execute search warrants, and make arrests — across air, land, and sea domains (CBP AMO Program Overview, CBP.gov).

AMO maintains a national infrastructure of more than 240 aircraft and 300 marine vessels operating from over 85 locations across the continental United States, Puerto Rico, and Guam (CBP.gov, Air and Marine Operations). The fleet includes fixed-wing surveillance aircraft such as the P-3 Orion and the Pilatus PC-12, rotary-wing platforms including the UH-60 Black Hawk, and unmanned aerial systems (UAS) like the MQ-9 Predator B drone. Each platform class serves distinct mission profiles based on endurance, altitude ceiling, sensor payload, and speed.

AMO agents — formally titled Air Interdiction Agents and Marine Interdiction Agents — are distinct from CBP Officers and Border Patrol Agents. While CBP Officers conduct inspections at ports of entry and Border Patrol Agents operate between ports, AMO personnel focus on detection and interdiction in the aerial and maritime environments that ground-based units cannot effectively monitor.

How it works

AMO operations are structured around three core mission categories:

1. Domain awareness — Persistent surveillance using airborne sensors, radar, and UAS to detect unauthorized aircraft, maritime vessels, and surface movement in border regions. The Tethered Aerostat Radar System (TARS) program, managed in coordination with the Department of Defense, extends low-altitude radar coverage across the southwest border and Caribbean approaches.

2. Interdiction — Active interception of suspect aircraft and vessels identified through domain awareness operations. Air Interdiction Agents are authorized to perform aerial surveillance tracking, coordinate with foreign counterparts, and support law enforcement actions in international airspace under bilateral agreements such as the Shiprider Agreement with Caribbean partner nations.

3. Support to ground and maritime units — AMO assets provide aerial reconnaissance, transportation, search and rescue, and rapid deployment support to CBP Border Patrol, the CBP Office of Field Operations, and partner agencies including the U.S. Coast Guard, DEA, and FBI.

AMO coordinates through the National Air Security Operations Centers (NASOCs) located in Corpus Christi, Texas, and Riverside, California. These centers function as command hubs that integrate sensor feeds, coordinate asset deployment, and relay targeting information to field units in real time. The CBP technology and surveillance infrastructure feeds directly into NASOC operations.

UAS operations receive particular regulatory coordination. AMO UAS flights in the national airspace operate under coordination with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) pursuant to Certificates of Authorization (COAs), which specify altitude restrictions, geographic corridors, and airspace deconfliction protocols (FAA UAS Integration Office).

Common scenarios

AMO assets are deployed across a range of operational contexts. Representative scenarios include:

• Narcotics interdiction over Caribbean and Pacific corridors — P-3 Orion aircraft equipped with long-range radar and electro-optical sensors conduct multi-hour surveillance missions over maritime drug transit zones. When suspect go-fast vessels are detected, AMO coordinates with U.S. Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachments for surface interdiction.

• Southwest border UAS surveillance — MQ-9 Predator B drones operating from Sierra Vista, Arizona, conduct persistent overwatch of remote terrain in the Rio Grande Valley and Sonoran Desert sectors, relaying sensor data to Border Patrol ground units responding to detected crossings.

• Suspect aircraft intercept — Air Interdiction Agents operating Citation jet aircraft respond to aircraft flying without active transponders or deviating from flight plans in border regions. Intercept procedures follow protocols established under agreements between CBP and the FAA, including standardized visual signals governed by ICAO Annex 2 standards (ICAO, Annex 2 — Rules of the Air).

• Disaster and humanitarian support — AMO rotary-wing assets have been deployed during hurricane response operations to conduct search and rescue missions, deliver supplies to isolated areas, and support federal emergency management coordination.

• Marine interdiction in territorial waters — Marine Interdiction Agents operating interceptor vessels conduct boardings of suspect watercraft in U.S. territorial waters pursuant to authority under 19 U.S.C. § 1581, which authorizes CBP officers to board and search any vessel within customs waters (19 U.S.C. § 1581 via ecfr.gov).

Decision boundaries

AMO operational authority has defined boundaries that distinguish it from other law enforcement components:

Domestic vs. international jurisdiction — Within U.S. territorial airspace and waters (12 nautical miles from shore), AMO agents operate under full domestic law enforcement authority. Beyond 12 nautical miles, operations depend on bilateral agreements, flag-state consent, or specific statutory authority such as the Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act (46 U.S.C. §§ 70501–70508), which extends U.S. jurisdiction over stateless vessels on the high seas (46 U.S.C. § 70502 via Cornell LII).

AMO vs. U.S. Coast Guard — Both agencies conduct maritime law enforcement, but the functional distinction is significant. The Coast Guard holds primary authority for maritime safety, search and rescue in open ocean, and fisheries enforcement, and operates under the Department of Homeland Security in peacetime. AMO's maritime mission focuses specifically on customs and immigration enforcement within CBP's statutory mandate. The two agencies operate under a formal Memorandum of Understanding that delineates overlapping jurisdictions.

Lethal force and aircraft countermeasures — AMO does not have independent authority to use deadly force to disable or destroy suspect aircraft. Any such action in domestic airspace requires presidential authorization and coordination through the Department of Defense under 10 U.S.C. § 14 (the "air sovereignty" framework), distinguishing AMO's intercept role from military air defense functions.

The full scope of AMO's role within the CBP enterprise is best understood alongside the agency's organizational structure and the broader key dimensions and scopes of CBP, which situate AMO relative to ground-based and trade enforcement components. Visitors seeking foundational information on CBP's overall mission can consult the site index for a structured entry point into related topics.