A deep dive into the global spy plane market

All over the globe – from the Mexican border to Syria to the Sahel – companies are renting out planes equipped with powerful sensors to armies and intelligence services for political missions. The market may be discreet, but it isn’t invisible. Metrea, Berry Aviation and DEA Aviation aren’t your run-of-the-mill aviation companies. They don’t transport passengers or merchandise; their planes are equipped with powerful intelligence equipment like cameras and radar. These planes are used for "ISR", an acronym for "intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance". ISR missions are meant to detect, identify and then follow targets from the sky. These days, there is a global market for ISR planes, a trend that began in the early 2000s. When the United States began operations in the Middle East after the attacks on September 11, the army needed to carry out surveillance in both remote and mountainous regions in Afghanistan and within Iraqi cities. Their needs for ISR planes surpassed their capabilities. The US began calling on companies equipped to provide these services. This practice continues: today, governments employ private planes to patrol and gather intelligence across Africa, the M...