The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Air and Marine Operations (AMO) has retired its C550 Citation aircraft. AMO agents flew the high-speed aircraft for the last time to Houston.

During the 1970s, drug smugglers flew tons of narcotics directly into the United States via private aircraft. The US Customs Service (USCS) needed a high-speed, interceptor aircraft to address this growing vulnerability and found that solution in the C550.

“The Citation became the workhorse of AMO's fleet throughout the 80s and 90s,” explains AMO executive assistant director Edward Young. “The introduction of this aircraft with its unique intercept and tracking capabilities was the primary factor making illegal air smuggling into the United States a thing of the past. It is the perfect example of how a law enforcement agency identifies a threat, develops a solution, trains its people and successfully implements an operational capability. Because of the Citation, this method of delivering illicit contraband into the US no longer exists.”

USCS turned to Cessna to incorporate existing sensor and communication technology onto a Citation II airframe to create an aircraft that could detect and intercept smugglers. The C550 was equipped with a military ‘fire-control’ radar, sophisticated infrared camera, modified instrument panels and law enforcement communication package.

Cessna built 24 of these aircraft on the regular Citation II production line and modified an additional four for USCS. In total, 28 aircraft were built/modified into USCS high performance aircraft. The Citation C550 continued its service under USCS and then with AMO, protecting the nation's borders for over 40 years.

The C550 interceptor, along with the Tethered Aerostat Radar Systems and the Air and Marine Operations Center, all but eliminated the illegal use of private aircraft smuggling into the United States.

Since 2012, the C550 aircraft have contributed to $1.4 million in seized currency and the seizure of 741 pounds of cocaine, 11,687 pounds of marijuana, 608 pounds of methamphetamine, 83 weapons, five aircraft and 58 vehicles. The C550 has conducted 260 hours of surveillance during Super Bowls and flown for 33 hours searching for escaped prisoners in New York in 2015 and for 20 hours securing the presidential inauguration and United Nations.

AMO's four remaining C550 aircraft will be sold at auction at the end of the year.

In the 2019 fiscal year, AMO enforcement actions resulted in the seizure or disruption of 284,825 pounds of cocaine, 101,874 pounds of marijuana, 51,058 pounds of methamphetamine, 935 weapons and $34.1 million, 1,575 arrests and 52,036 apprehensions of illegal aliens.