CBP NASOC San Angelo Air & Marine PVC Patches — Unmanned Eyes Over the Border, 24/7/365
When the sun goes down on the Texas border, the drones at Mathis Field are just getting started.
The National Air Security Operations Center — San Angelo (NASOC-SA) is one of U.S. Customs and Border Protection's elite unmanned aircraft system (UAS) operating locations, flying MQ-9 Predator B drones from Mathis Airfield in San Angelo, Texas. As part of CBP's Air and Marine Operations (AMO) — the largest aviation and maritime law enforcement organization in the world — NASOC-SA conducts around-the-clock surveillance and interdiction support missions along the U.S. southern border, streaming real-time electro-optical, infrared, and radar data to ground agents and partner agencies in the fight against drug smuggling, human trafficking, and transnational criminal organizations. Originally established as a forward UAS operating site, NASOC-SA was designated a permanent operating location by AMO, cementing its role as a critical node in the nation's border security architecture. The men and women at San Angelo don't just watch the border — they own the night, tracking suspect vehicles and foot traffic across some of the most remote and rugged terrain in West Texas, feeding actionable intelligence to Border Patrol agents, DEA task forces, and Joint Interagency operations in real time. Beyond the southern border, NASOC UAS crews have supported counter-narcotics operations throughout the Western Hemisphere, including interdictions in the Eastern Pacific and Caribbean that have denied traffickers hundreds of millions of dollars in illicit proceeds. This PVC patch represents the quiet professionals of AMO's drone mission — the crews who fly the line every night so the border never goes unwatched.