The U.S. Border Patrol recently deployed two additional autonomous surveillance towers (ASTs) in the Texas Big Bend Sector to improve border security operations.
ASTs detect and monitor movement in remote and rugged terrain. Using artificial intelligence, they have the ability to differentiate between human and vehicle traffic as well as between human activity and nonrelevant objects such as animals. This reduces false alarms.
The ASTs are solar powered and equipped with cameras and long-range sensors including night thermal technology. They relay real-time video feeds to agents in the field.
“ASTs give us complete domain awareness in remote locations, allowing us to monitor certain areas more effectively,” Marco Cervantes, acting chief patrol agent, said. “This technology enables us to secure the border more safely and efficiently.”
The latest Big Bend Sector installations, which were completed earlier this month, brings the total number of ASTs to 54.
ASTs in Big Bend Sector have detected 1,686 instances of border activity during fiscal year 2024.
Compared to fiscal year 2023, there have been 58.4 percent less migrant encounters. The U.S. Border Patrol attributes the drop partially to ASTs disrupting criminal smuggling operations.
The first ASTs in the Big Bend Sector went into operation in April 2021.