(Panama Digest) Panama will buy four unmanned spy planes to fight drug trafficking along its coasts at a cost of $20 million, not the $16 million originally thought.
Minister of Security Alejandro Garuz said that the new aircraft will be purchased from the United States and that they will have radar and night-navigation equipment.
Originally, Panama considered renting the craft for $1.6 million a month per plane, Minister of Security Jose Raul Mulino said. Ā If the math is correct, it would cost $19.2 million to rent a spy plane for one year and $76.8 million to rent four spy planes for a year. Ā That is more than spending $5 million a piece to own them.
In somewhat related news, the Vice Minister said that the government is also considering purchasing a batch of 8,153 Ā Glocks from Austria for $7 million. The guns would come with amenities such asĀ training for shooters, weapon maintenance, holsters, spare parts andĀ metal sights instead of plastic ones. Ā The Comptroller objected to the original proposal of spending $8 million dollar to buy the Glocks from a local supplier last year.