The US government has donated two Puma drones and two fixed scanners to Costa Rica to bolster the country’s security.
The drones are valued at $5 million, while the scanners, including installation and staff training costs, total $19.5 million.
The Puma delivery includes stabilizers, waterproof static ports, fuselage structure components, antennas, batteries, and launch systems.
These donations follow a request made by Costa Rica’s President Rodrigo Chaves a year ago, seeking special assistance from the US to combat drug trafficking at the country’s major ports, Caldera and Japdeva.
The initiative was facilitated by the US Southern Command.
Puma Drones
Washington and San José did not disclose details regarding which Puma system had been delivered.
American firm AeroVironment manufactures various generations of drones and recently announced an upgrade plan for its two models of Puma unmanned aerial systems.
The Puma AE, a lightweight drone weighing only 15.4 pounds (7 kilograms), is designed for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) missions.
It offers a flight endurance of three hours and can be launched by hand, bungee, rail, or vehicle.
The Puma LE, a larger ISR drone, is also launchable by hand or bungee and has a payload capacity of 5.5 pounds (2.5 kilograms).
It can fly for 6.5 hours and cover distances of up to 60 kilometers (37 miles) over land or sea when equipped with a long-range tracking antenna.
In 2022, the US Army awarded AeroVironment an $86.4-million contract to supply Puma drones, alongside an additional $20-million deal to deliver these unmanned aerial systems to two undisclosed allied nations.