Mexican navy debuts new Arcturus T-20 drone

MEXICO CITY, Aug. 3 (UPI) -- The Mexican navy debuted its new Arcturus T-20 surveillance drone at a ceremony late last week, the sea service announced.

The navy collaborated with the Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food on the project, the navy said in a statement.

The drone will provide surveillance for the protection and recovery of the endangered vaquita, a rare porpoise found in the Gulf of California, as well as to prevent poaching of the totoaba fish in the same waters.

The surveillance system features three aircraft equipped with high-resolutions cameras, control vehicles, antennas and a pneumatic launcher.

It offers cost-effective and efficient day-and-night monitoring while improving the protection of Mexico's coastal waters, the navy said.