{"id":68101,"date":"2026-06-09T22:25:20","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T22:25:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/68101\/"},"modified":"2026-06-09T22:25:20","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T22:25:20","slug":"new-ai-powered-surveillance-towers-are-coming-to-the-southern-border","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/68101\/","title":{"rendered":"New AI-powered surveillance towers are coming to the southern border"},"content":{"rendered":"

Customs and Border Protection is moving forward on AI-powered autonomous surveillance towers that are expected to be deployed across the southern border, signing a $71 million task order<\/a> with GDIT last week.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The award is the latest in a massive indefinite delivery\/indefinite quantity contract, worth up to $1.8 billion, that kicked off three years ago and is aimed at modernizing and expanding CBP\u2019s surveillance tower system<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

GDIT is a business unit of aerospace and defense company General Dynamics, which generated more than $52 billion in revenue last year. The vendor is a key player in CBP\u2019s modernization plans as the prime contractor on a remote video surveillance program<\/a>, the developer of a CBP database with quantum sensors<\/a> and a fundamental part of a number of other projects including the smart border wall.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe started working on this next-generation autonomous tower about three years ago,\u201d Michael Wagner, VP of biometrics, border and transportation security at GDIT, told FedScoop. \u201cWe\u2019ve gone through several iterations of solutioning and testing and validating out in the field.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The surveillance towers come in two sizes: 80 feet or 120 feet. In testing scenarios, the towers can detect, track and identify objects up to eight miles away, according to Wagner, though the range varies depending on the deployment site and surrounding terrain.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Built for off-the-grid locations, the towers feature solar panels and, in some cases, diesel backup generators and tanks. Edge computing also enables deployment in remote areas without sacrificing speed or function, Wagner said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

GDIT is looking to incorporate counter-UAS capabilities in the future amid the rise of drone threats at the border. But for now, the towers are focused on the ground.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s looking at, is someone coming across the fence, is there something moving out there,\u201d Wagner said. \u201cIt\u2019s not pointed up to do counter-UAS but that\u2019s something that we are internally exploring and working towards in our technology roadmap.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The towers are equipped with several cameras and sensors that can track hundreds of targets simultaneously. Thermal infrared imaging helps the system better determine items of interest in darkness or low visibility, and laser rangefinding improves distance assessment and identification accuracy.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

AI powers the classification capabilities, distinguishing between a car, person, animal or other object. Over time and with help from human operators, the goal is for the system to be able to determine whether a person is carrying a weapon or large backpack, according to Wagner.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Another layer of AI connects several towers together into one operating picture for those back in command and control centers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are logistical challenges in getting these items procured and built,\u201d Wagner said. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of chips on these tower solutions.\u201d<\/p>\n

In April, CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott told lawmakers during a hearing<\/a> that the challenge was not signing a contract, but making sure vendors could overcome supply chain constraints.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe industry has grappled with supply chain issues and logistical challenges in the past three to six months,\u201d Wagner said. \u201cA lot of that [is] driven by the AI boom and the shortage of chips.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\"Lindsey<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tWritten by Lindsey Wilkinson
\n\t\t\tLindsey Wilkinson is a reporter for FedScoop in Washington, D.C., covering government IT with a focus on DHS, DOT, DOE and several other agencies. Before joining Scoop News Group, Lindsey closely covered the rise of generative AI in enterprises, exploring the evolution of AI governance and risk mitigation efforts. She has had bylines at CIO Dive, Homeland Security Today, The Crimson White and Alice magazine.\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Customs and Border Protection is moving forward on AI-powered autonomous surveillance towers that are expected to be deployed…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":68102,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[24,25,9780,2109,37492,38108,38109],"class_list":["post-68101","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ai","tag-ai","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-border-security","tag-department-of-homeland-security-dhs","tag-gdit","tag-smart-wall","tag-u-s-customs-and-border-protection-cbp"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68101","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=68101"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68101\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/68102"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=68101"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=68101"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=68101"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}