DETROIT — The Department of Homeland Security is showing off a $900,000 prototype of a speed boat designed to patrol the nation’s border waters.
The agency’s National Marine Center demonstrated the 43-foot, 10-ton boat Monday on the Detroit River. The Advanced Concept Demonstrator Vessel has four 350-horsepower engines.
The Detroit Free Press says the boat has a top speed of about 75 miles per hour, compared with about 62 mph for current boats.
The government says the boat has cameras with a one-mile range that can lock on and track suspects. It also has heat sensors capable of picking up targets up to three miles away.
It isn’t known how many of the boats eventually will be used on the Great Lakes.