DHS Posts Notice for Integrated Surveillance Tower Contract

The Department of Homeland Security will recompete a $100 million contract vehicle to provide the U.S. Customs and Border Protection with integrated surveillance tower, or IST, supplies and services.

What Are CBP’s Integrated Surveillance Tower Requirements?

The agency will award a firm-fixed-price delivery order for 542 new ISTs and recapitalize 348 legacy towers, according to a notice posted on the Acquisition Planning Forecast System Monday.

ISTs enable U.S. Border Patrol agents to detect, identify, classify and monitor threats across the southern and northern borders. Each of the towers is equipped with multiple sensors and subsystems, including communications, power and instrumentation platforms.

Work on the ISTs will be performed across multiple sites within the continental United States until May 2030.

DHS will release an official request for proposals in the coming days.

Which Companies Have Previously Worked on Surveillance Tower System Modernization?

Several defense contractors have supported CBP’s surveillance tower modernization efforts in recent years.

In 2024, General Dynamics Information Technology secured a position on a potential $1.8 billion indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract to modernize CBP’s consolidated tower and surveillance equipment. Advanced Technology Systems Co. and Elbit Systems of America also won a spot in the contract to deploy new towers and upgrade legacy systems.

Anduril has also played a major role, deploying hundreds of autonomous surveillance towers for the CBP since 2019. Its artificial intelligence-enabled Sentry and Lattice systems now provide significant coverage along the southern border and support both land and maritime operations.

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