National Security

Border Patrol Investment in Autonomous Systems Expected to Surge Globally

Published on
January 21, 2025

Autonomous systems have demonstrated their utility on and off the battlefield in recent years and have become increasingly accessible for civilian and military users, even as demand has surged. While the innovations in drone warfare throughout Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine have been the primary focus of analysts, a growing number of countries are incorporating drones as a tool for border surveillance. At the same time, border officials are cognisant of the growing use of drones by criminal operators for surveillance and smuggling purposes as well as to conduct attacks against law enforcement and border infrastructure. At a time when activity at borders around the world constantly makes headlines, security officials must be ready to deploy and defend their territory in a new age of drone technology.

Originally, the use of drones at the border was primarily limited to smugglers and traffickers. Every year, operators pilot thousands of small Unmanned Aerial Systems (sUAS) across the border to deliver drugs, search for points of vulnerability along the border, and scout the path ahead. In a March 2024 hearing with the US Senate Armed Forces Committee, the US Department of Defense reported that there are likely more than 1,000 incursions along the U.S.-Mexico border each month.1 While US lawmakers failed to pass a bill making drone operation at the border an illegal act, 2 the Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) of the United States has adopted sUAS of their own to aid them with intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) operations.

Operation Lone Star, a controversial initiative begun by Texas Governor Greg Abbott in 2021 to limit border crossings has demonstrated the utility of UAS border operations. One part of the operation, which is a collaboration between the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Texas Military Department deploys small drones to seek out border intrusions. Officials involved with Operation Lone Star use manned-unmanned teaming (MUM-T) techniques to prevent border crossings; drones pinpoint the location of border activity – often using thermal night vision features – before sending in operators to investigate further.3 The use of drones to survey the scene allows law enforcement to build an informed plan of action before putting officers in dangerous situations unnecessarily.

Border Operations Around the World

The United States is not the only country to develop an arsenal of UAS to aid border security efforts. Indeed, the proliferation of drones for border surveillance purposes has become a global phenomenon, spanning developing and developed countries across multiple continents. Thai border agents along the country’s boundary with Malaysia have used MUM-T techniques with sUAS to secure national airspace, apprehend drug smugglers, and stop illegal crossings. Colombia’s Ministry of Defense has reported using drones to patrol its border with Venezuela, in addition to scouring the country for signs of potential narcotrafficking and terrorism.4

© Skydio | Border Patrol Thermal Imaging

Turkey stands out as an early adopter and enthusiastic user of drones, especially in the eastern part of the country. The Turkish military has used its large fleet of UAVs for more than just the MUM-T surveillance operations that are more common along the United States’ southern border. In the mid-2010s, Turkey became one of the first countries to use drones in conventional combat operations; Turkish counterterrorism operations against both Turkish citizens and foreigners used drones to identify the source of indirect fire. The Turkish Army has regularly conducted airstrikes against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) separatist movement using the Bayraktar TB2, a medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) system.5

Drone Technology Advancements

The success in UAS border efforts has come in part due to the recent advancement and proliferation of drone technology. The range, durability, affordability, and operability of UAS has improved considerably since the Nagorno-Karabakh border war between Armenia and Azerbaijan in 2020, and especially improved since Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The battlefield success of unmanned surveillance and kamikaze systems such as the Iranian Shahed, Turkish Bayraktar TB2, Ukrainian Switchblade 600, and others has motivated defence and industry officials to make meaningful investments in the unmanned sector. A senior business official from Lockheed Martin, speaking under Chatham House rules, reported that initially successful developments in UAS technology are often countered by the opposing force within two weeks. Improvements in drone sensing, detection, tracking, manoeuvrability, anti-collision technology, are all too often temporary as the opposing fighters make their own developments to counter such advancements.

Such developments are not without meaning for the wider defence and security industry, however. The rapid changes in drone warfare have only furthered the interest of homeland security officials and military leaders. Defence startups and larger contractors alike are in rapid pursuit of offensive and defensive drone enhancements to achieve the creation and delivery of impactful autonomous arsenals. Defence innovators are adapting improvements in AI, anti-collision technology, augmented reality, 5G, and miniaturization to achieve new heights (literally and figuratively) in the autonomous systems industry.

Despite these increases in utility, there is still considerable room for growth in the application of drones in the defence and security sector. Advances in artificial intelligence are expected to dramatically reduce the obstacles faced by border officials. The US Border Patrol already uses Anduril Industries’ Autonomous Surveillance Towers (AST), powered by the company’s Lattice software platform to “ingest, fuse, and run data (radar, infrared, and more) from cost-effective sensors through computer vision algorithms.”6 Anduril’s Bolt-M sUAS also uses the Lattice software to autonomously track targets seeking to flee. Beyond Anduril specifically, advances in AI will lead to the first truly autonomous drone swarms, with multiple units controlled without human intervention. Such advancements make the destruction of pursuing drones more difficult, as it is harder to disable or destroy more than one drone. Furthermore, swarms of AI-powered UAS will be able to pursue multiple targets should they choose to flee in more than one direction.

Procurement officials should – finances permitting – pursue the development of an autonomous arsenal that includes a variety of aerial drone types. The advancement of miniature drones is an area that provides law enforcement and criminal operators of drones alike with the ability to conduct sensor operations while avoiding detection and evading fire. As miniature drones, no longer than a few centimetres, continue to develop, low material costs will make these devices widely accessible. While medium and high-altitude long-endurance (MALE and HALE) UAVs are more suited for military application, these systems can play a role in areas that are difficult to navigate due to geographic or weather conditions.

At Sea and On the Ground

While discussion of unmanned technology at the border is largely limited to aerial systems, it is worth mentioning recent advancements in Unmanned Maritime Vessels (UMVs), including both Unmanned Surface Vessels (USVs) and Unmanned Underwater Vessels (UUVs). Ukraine’s successful use of the Sea Baby and MAGURA V5 USV systems forced the Russian Black Sea Fleet to retreat after more than one-third of it was destroyed or seriously damaged. While it is unlikely that coast guards across the globe will use kamikaze USVs to defend their coastlines, there is ample room for the use of autonomous patrolling vessels in contested or dangerous waters. States will also seek to protect undersea cables and other critical infrastructure using UUVs. The 2022 sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines in the Baltic Sea underscores the need for further investment in manned and unmanned underwater patrolling technology, as states will seek to secure territorial waters.

Ground Vehicles (UGVs), particularly of the robot dog variety, are largely still in development but are expected to be an important component of a secure border in the 21st century. These robot dogs, known as Automated Ground Surveillance Vehicles (AGSVs) are in advanced development and testing by the US CBP’s Science and Technology Directorate (S&T). Robots traverse any type of natural or man-made environment using various types of cameras as well as CBRNE sensors, which allows law enforcement to maintain a safe but effective distance before approaching a dangerous situation.7

Countering Drones at the Border

The mass proliferation of drone technology in recent years has necessitated major investments into the emerging counter-drones technology (C-UAS) industry to ensure that drones do not provide an outsized advantage to the opposing side. As technological advances lower the costs of acquiring drones, access to such systems has expanded for civil, criminal, and law enforcement roles, necessitating creative solutions to defend borders against the onslaught of drones. Drone and counter-drone developers work against each other to create advantages for system operators, so border security officials must make investments in both industries to secure their territory against both types of threat.

Drone designers work against the C-UAS industry, which is attempting to disable or destroy oncoming systems using kinetic and non-kinetic solutions. The coming generation of drones at the border will need to be able to resist new jamming techniques and avoid advanced projectiles. Militaries worldwide are investing in C-UAS technologies that will translate well to border security operations such as Directed Energy Weapons (DEW), GNSS (GPS) Jamming devices, advanced net deployment systems, and much more. Law enforcement concerned with the illegal operation of drones at the border should consider tools made explicitly to tackle the new age of autonomous border incursions.

To be sure, a further increase in the use of drones for tackling illegal immigration can be expected as the issue becomes a priority for President Donald Trump and remains relevant worldwide. The future border security will be determined in part by state investment in C-UAS, UAS, UMVs, and UGVs. A global rush for autonomous arsenals began after border officials became equal parts impressed and stressed by the capability of these systems on the Ukrainian frontlines. Now, nations which fail to invest in counter-drone technologies will struggle to combat the use of drones by smugglers and other threats. Conversely, nations which fail to invest in autonomous systems will operate with a limited set of tools when securing their borders. The rapid pace of advancements within the unmanned sector will continue to drive demand, yet the supply of drones for border enforcement officials will only expand as innovators discover new ways to make drones accessible and inexpensive.

References

1 Defense.gov, “NORAD Commander: Incursions by Unmanned Aircraft Systems on Southern Border Likely Exceed 1,000 a Month.” March 14th, 2024

https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/3707785/norad-commander-incursions-by-unmanned-aircraft-systems-on-southern-border-like/

2 AZMirror.com, “Senators Told of ‘Alarming’ Level of Drone Incursions.” March 29, 2024

https://azmirror.com/briefs/senators-told-of-alarming-level-of-drone-incursions-at-southern-border/

3 Gov.Texas.gov, “Texas National Guard Deploys Use Drone Technology To Stop Illegal Crossings.” August 30, 2024

https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/operation-lone-star-deploys-drone-technology-to-secure-the-border

4 Dialogo Americas. “Drones Strengthen Security in Colombia.” April 14, 2022.

https://dialogo-americas.com/articles/drones-strengthen-security-in-colombia/

5 Royal United Services Institute (RUSI). “Turkey: Armed Drones in the Middle East.”  

https://drones.rusi.org/countries/turkey/

6 Anduril Industries. “President Biden Demanded ‘High-Tech Capacity’ for Border Security. Anduril’s Towers  

Are Delivering It.” September 16, 2021.  

https://blog.anduril.com/president-biden-demanded-high-tech-capacity-for-border-security-805b7b5664b5

7 Dhs.gov. “Robot Dogs Take Another Step Towards Deployment at the Border.” February 1, 2022.  

https://www.dhs.gov/science-and-technology/news/2022/02/01/feature-article-robot-dogs-take-another-step-towards-deployment

CONTRIBUTED by
Fox Walker
Fox is a London-based defence analyst within the Aerospace, Defence & Security (ADS) division at GlobalData Plc, a leading data and analytics company. Here, Fox researches emerging military technologies and forecasts the defence spending of NATO allies. Prior to this role, Fox earned an MA from the Department of War Studies at King’s College London, where he studied National Security and Grand Strategy. Originally from Fort Worth, Texas, Fox is building a career with the aspiration to one day work for the US Policy Planning Staff, which serves to advise the Secretary of State.
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