Watch This UH-60 Black Hawk Pounce On An Unsuspecting Speedboat And Then Go Vertical

The Customs and Border Protection helicopter buzzed the pleasure boat before performing a breathtaking about-face maneuver.

byTyler Rogoway|
U.S. Homeland photo
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U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) helos take to the air every day across the United States on various missions, including hunting for drug smugglers off America's shores and patrolling the skies for slow-flying threats at major public events. Part of their mission set is surveillance and part of it is interdiction and direct action, all of which can rely heavily on stealth and the element of surprise. When it came to one speedboat full of people, a CBP UH-60 Black Hawk definitely surprised them with just about as close-up of surveillance as possible, before making an about-face that would wow at any air show crowd. 

The video was posted by @Combat_learjet on Instagram without any details. You can see the CBP's signature black and gold UH-60 creep up from behind the civilian boat, before roaring by just above the waves. It then goes nose up an incredibly steep climb while pirouetting around and then flying away in the opposite direction. It is a remarkably impressive aerobatic display. Check it out for yourself:

It isn't clear if making these types of passes and overhead maneuvers are common practice for the CBP's choppers under normal circumstances, but maybe its crew suspected the boat was up to nefarious acts. Regardless, the passengers of that boat certainly got one hell of an impromptu, if not at first jarring, private air show courtesy of the CBP!

Contact the author: Tyler@thedrive.com

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