Kristen Smith 
- Anduril Industries has won a $363 million CBP contract for over 200 Extended Range Sentry Towers
- The 80-foot towers could spot and track objects beyond 5 miles, stretching to 7.5 miles with an operator involved
- The award builds on a partnership that began in 2019 with just five test towers
Customs and Border Protection has awarded Anduril Industries a $363 million contract for more than 200 Extended Range Sentry Towers, or XRST.
The award, which Anduril announced Friday, expands a relationship that began in 2019 with five test towers and now covers hundreds of fielded systems. The 80-foot XRST tower cleared CBP acceptance testing in November 2024.
Anduril’s expanding footprint at the border reflects the kind of operational capability investment driving Customs and Border Protection’s modernization — part of a Department of Homeland Security agenda backed by a FY26 budget increase of 65 percent. Register now for the Potomac Officers Club’s 2026 Homeland Security Summit on Nov. 12 to hear directly from DHS leadership on how industry can contribute to these strategic priorities.
What Can the Extended Range Sentry Tower Do?
XRST, the latest in the Sentry line, is equipped with a sensor package that could detect, classify and track objects beyond 5 miles, and as far as 7.5 miles with an operator involved.
The agency already operates more than 350 Standard Range Sentry systems, which have autonomously logged hundreds of thousands of border crossings, Anduril said. When the systems handle round-the-clock detection, Border Patrol personnel can shift from spotting crossings to work that draws on their law enforcement training, it added.
XRST integrates with the existing Sentry tower networks and Anduril’s Lattice software to enhance counter-intrusion capabilities.
How Did the Anduril-CBP Relationship Develop?
The award builds on years of operational collaboration between CBP and Anduril. Following the tower testing effort in 2019, the company’s autonomous surveillance towers became a program of record in 2020. By late 2024, the company finalized its 300th deployment, covering 30 percent of the U.S. southern land border.
