The State’s investment in its much maligned surveillance airship appears to be long-term, with the Special Anti Crime Unit of Trinidad and Tobago (SAUTT) now looking for locals to pilot the ’blimp’.
A newspaper advertisement yesterday invited recruits to be part of its ’crime reduction surveillance, searches, information gathering, and other national security requirements’.
And all it takes is youth and experience flying an airplane, the ad noted.
The airship is currently piloted by a crew of six Americans from North Carolina, who receive a multi-million-dollar compensation package, sources told the Express.
Equipment aboard the airship is believed to be capable of listening in on cell phone conversations, with video cameras that can view and record faces from miles away.
Funding for the airship, which SAUTT says is part of its Air Support Branch, comes from the $4.7 billion allocated to the Ministry of National Security, of which some $388 million was set aside for SAUTT, according to figures used by Senator Dana Seetahal during last month’s 2009-2010 budget debate.
Last October, Minister in the Ministry of National Security, Donna Cox, said the Skyship 600 was being operated at an annual cost of $17,010,000, having been bought in May 2006 for $15,750,000 at the end of a lease arrangement that cost $5 million.
The Skyship 600 replaced its predecessor, the SkyDragon, which was painted in the colours of the US flag -a $19 million investment that did not work.
The legality of SAUTT and its operations has been a source of concern for politicians and citizens questioning its crime-fighting effectiveness and concern about privacy rights.
National Security Minister Martin Joseph has promised to bring legislation next January to regularise SAUTT.
