On July 12, 2007, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), ordered eight additional AS350 B3 AStar helicopters to support its mission of protecting the nation’s borders. These new aircraft will join the CBP fleet that already includes 43 AS350s and 11 EC120s, making it the largest single fleet of Ecurueil/AStar helicopters in the world. “The AStar 350s in our inventory have continued to perform well, providing proven, dependable service in Air & Marine’s Light Enforcement Helicopter role, and our Air Interdiction Agents are looking forward to flying the new dual hydraulic AStar 350 B3s which will enter operational service in our homeland security mission early next year,” explained Major General (Ret.) Michael Kostelnik, Assistant Commissioner, CBP Air and Marine. Today, the AS350 is the preferred platform of the major law-enforcement agencies in the United States, offering unparalleled visibility and the ideal prerequisites for integration in security and law-enforcement operations, accompanied by a level of performance and reliability that perfectly meets the requirements of such missions. It is also extremely popular with operators by virtue of its unmatched power, its extensive mission equipment options and the safety of its multiple- redundancy system design. The AS350 is currently in service with 75 American government agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and the Department of Justice (DOJ). In short, it has become an indispensable tool in the fight against crime.