June 13, 2025
Anduril deploys 300 AI surveillance towers on US-Mexico border
AI surveillance towers monitor 30% of border as defense valuations double overnight
🛡️National Security🤖AI Governance✊Civil Rights
Palmer Luckey's Anduril Industries deployed 300+ Autonomous Surveillance Towers using AI to track human movement across the border.
The company's valuation doubled from $14 billion to $30.5 billion in six months as defense contracts multiplied under Trump.
As of June 13, 2025, Anduril Industries has deployed over 300 autonomous Extended Range Sentry Towers along the U.S.–Mexico border, covering approximately 30% of the land boundary.
Each tower integrates 15–20 sensor types (thermal imaging, radar, acoustic, seismic, chemical, etc.) and can classify and track objects up to 7.5 miles away while autonomously detecting beyond 5 miles.
Anduril’s Lattice AI platform fuses data from disparate sensors to classify objects, control both Anduril and third-party systems, and make autonomous threat assessments and engagement recommendations without human oversight.
In the last six months under the Trump Administration, Anduril’s valuation doubled from $14 billion to $30.5 billion, driven by new defense contracts including:
• A $99.7 million Space Force contract for space surveillance network modernization,
• A $249.98 million Department of Defense award for advanced air defense production,
• Plans for a $1 billion manufacturing facility in Pickaway County, Ohio, to build AI-powered aerial and maritime drones, and
• The takeover of Microsoft’s $22 billion Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS) contract.
Under the “border search exception” and the CBP 100-mile rule, these towers operate with reduced Fourth Amendment protections, affecting U.S. communities up to 100 miles from any border or international airport (over 200 million residents).
Civil rights groups (ACLU, Business & Human Rights) confirm the towers collect biometric and location data from migrants without individual consent or clear legal authorization, creating opaque enforcement databases.
Human rights organizations report AI-driven monitoring pushes migrants into more dangerous desert routes, contributing to increased fatalities.
Data collected by Anduril’s border towers is shared with foreign intelligence partners, including members of the Five Eyes alliance, under international cooperation agreements.
International law experts (Human Rights Watch) warn that autonomous weapons systems like those integrated with Lattice raise profound accountability questions when civilian harm occurs.
Environmental groups (Sierra Club, National Wildlife Federation, Center for Biological Diversity) document that tower siting and infrastructure fragment habitats and disrupt wildlife migration patterns.
🛡️National Security🤖AI Governance✊Civil Rights
People, bills, and sources
Palmer Luckey (founder of Anduril Industries; publicly associated with deployment of autonomous border towers)
Actor
What You Can Do
1
Track relevant legislation and oversight hearings on congress.gov by searching terms like “border surveillance” or “autonomous weapons”—you can set up email alerts for new bills or committee activities.
2
Use USAspending.gov to monitor federal contracts awarded to Anduril Industries and examine contract terms, performance bonuses, and oversight provisions.
3
File Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests with U.S. Customs and Border Protection via cbp.gov/foia to obtain deployment schedules, data-sharing agreements, and internal policy documents.
4
Contact your U.S. Representative and Senators to request formal oversight hearings on autonomous surveillance deployments, privacy safeguards, and compliance with Fourth Amendment protections.
5
Submit public comments on any proposed CBP rulemaking related to border technology published in the Federal Register (federalregister.gov) to voice concerns about due process and data-privacy impacts.
6
Consult resources from the ACLU (aclu.org) and EFF (eff.org) for legal briefs, toolkits, and updates on constitutional challenges to border surveillance practices.
7
Engage with local chapters of environmental and human rights organizations (e.g., Sierra Club, National Wildlife Federation) to learn about ecological impacts and support advocacy or impact-mitigation efforts.
8
Follow Supreme Court dockets at supremecourt.gov for any pending cases that may address the constitutional scope of the border search exception or autonomous surveillance technology.