# CBP Integrated Surveillance Tower Expansion A GAO report (**GAO-26-108118**, surfaced publicly July 20, 2026 by the Electronic Frontier Foundation) revealed that [[Department of Homeland Security]] component [[CBP]] plans to nearly **triple** the number of surveillance towers along U.S. borders — from roughly **830 today to 2,300 by 2034** — at an expected cost of about **$1 billion**, funded through the [[Big Beautiful Bill]]. ## What the plan covers The expansion runs through CBP's **Integrated Surveillance Tower (IST) program**, which spans three tower families: autonomous surveillance towers (AI-based radar/thermal/optical systems that track targets over long distances — the [[Anduril Sentry Tower]] line), integrated fixed towers optimized for foot and vehicle traffic, and remote video surveillance systems, often sited close to the border fence — including in residential neighborhoods, with cameras capable of viewing homes on both sides of the border. DHS plans both **new long-range autonomous towers** and **retrofits of existing towers with autonomous capabilities**. ## Why it matters - **The demand-side pipeline behind Anduril's border business.** The 2025 Big Beautiful Bill's "certified autonomous" tower requirement effectively reserves new-tower procurement for [[Anduril]] (see [[Anduril Sentry Tower]] for the legislative-capture critique), so a tripling of the tower fleet is, in practice, a multi-year Anduril order book. The [[Anduril CBP 363M Sentry Tower Contract]] (June 2026, 200+ XRSTs) reads as the first tranche of this plan rather than a one-off award. - **A direct budget-bill → contractor money trail.** The GAO report names the One Big Beautiful Act as the $1B funding source — connecting the 2025 tax-and-spending law to [[Palmer Luckey]]'s company with unusual documentary clarity. - **Civil-liberties scale shift.** EFF, the ACLU, and Just Futures Law object that the network indiscriminately surveils border-region residents — the ACLU counts ~15 million people living under CBP's operations and surveillance, with borderland residents (not migrants or cartels) the most-surveilled group. A live flashpoint: CBP is seeking San Clemente, CA's permission for a Sentry tower sited 1.5 miles inland, overlooking most of the 62,000-resident city. ## Status A procurement *plan*, not a single award — expect it to surface as a series of contracts (and likely protests, permit fights, and litigation) through 2034. Tracked via [[Anduril Watch Log]]; individual awards belong in `/Deals/` as they land. ## See Also - [[Anduril Sentry Tower]] - [[Anduril CBP 363M Sentry Tower Contract]] - [[Anduril]] - [[CBP]] - [[Department of Homeland Security]] - [[Big Beautiful Bill]] - [[Palmer Luckey]] - [[Anduril Events]] - [[Events Hub]]