Customs and Border Protection (CBP) last week said it plans to spend up to $1.8 billion to acquire new border security surveillance towers and upgrade existing ones under the Integrated Surveillance Tower (IST) Consolidated Tower and Surveillance Equipment (CTSE) program awarded to three contractors earlier this month.
The initial awards to Advanced Technology Systems Company, General Dynamics [GD], and Elbit America are for a combined $67.8 million. The contract has an 18-month base period and four options that could potentially extend the work out 14 years.
“There will be future delivery orders under the CTSE contract depending on availability of funds and U.S. Border Patrol priorities,” a CBP spokesperson told Defense Daily last Friday.
Each vendor will deliver their respective sensor suites to the common operating picture for integration within 180 days after the award, the spokesperson said.
Current plans call for CBP to acquire about 277 new IST towers to be deployed in 53 separate Border Patrol areas of operation (AoRs) and upgrade about 191 legacy surveillance towers in 31 AoRs. The towers, which will be equipped with various sensors, include fixed and relocatable systems for short-, medium-, and long-range operations along the northern and southern borders and for maritime awareness.
Elbit America, a U.S.-based subsidiary of Israel’s Elbit Systems [ESLT], previously deployed the long-range Integrated Fixed Tower systems for CBP. GD supplied the short- and medium-range Remote Video Surveillance Systems (RVSS).
The IFTs include cameras for day and night sensing, radar, and related communications. The RVSS systems include day and night cameras that Border Patrol agents control remotely.
The spokesperson said that CBP will upgrade legacy RVSS towers based on operational needs and Border Patrol priorities.
Each vendor will supply five towers and related sensors under the initial delivery order and then compete for any new deployments or tower upgrades, the agency spokesperson said, adding that system acceptance testing will be conducted within each AoR after the first deployments as part of formal acceptance of the towers.
In addition to the IFT and RVSS systems, CBP has deployed mobile surveillance systems, unattended ground sensors, and manned and unmanned aircraft systems to conduct border security surveillance. The agency also acquires short-range surveillance towers from Anduril Industries under the Autonomous Surveillance Tower (AST) program, and has physical barriers and related lighting and sensors along some portions of the nation’s southwest border.
The AST contract is separate from the CTSE contract, the spokesperson said.
“Lighting, cameras, and detect technology provide Border Patrol agents with domain awareness, which is critical in both remote and urban areas,” the spokesperson said. “Domain awareness provides agents with the ability to track and respond to illicit cross-border activity more effectively and minimizes the response times for urgent emergency situations involving migrants. Additionally, the lighting, cameras, and detection technology that are part of the barrier system will prove awareness when breaching activity, that is, attempts to cut or otherwise damage or undermine the physical barrier, is detected, which is anticipated to reduce long-term maintenance and repair costs.”