Army Uses Border Mission to Test Cutting-Edge AR and Counter-Drone Systems
During operations with Customs and Border Protection, the US Army is field-testing new augmented reality and counter-unmanned aerial systems (C-UAS) along the US-Mexico border under live operational conditions.
The mission, first initiated during the Trump era, supports border security while giving troops the chance to trial technologies in environments too complex for traditional training. Soldiers provide intelligence feeds to border patrol agents while assessing the effectiveness of next-generation gear.
Among the systems in use are the IVAS 1.2 headset, which merges augmented reality with night vision, thermal imaging, and navigation. Built on Microsoft’s HoloLens and refined with input from Anduril and Meta, the headset now offers improved ergonomics compared to earlier versions. Soldiers are also deploying the DZYNE Dronebuster, a portable rifle-style jammer weighing under 3 kilograms that neutralizes drones within a 2-kilometer range.
Other assets include Anduril’s Black Hornet 4 tactical drone for surveillance, Palantir’s vehicle-mounted TITAN sensor for detecting UAS activity, enhanced remotely operated weapon stations, and beyond-line-of-sight radios capable of alerting border patrol within a minute of detection.
According to Col. Hugh Jones of the 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, soldiers are tasked with monitoring over 1,000 miles of border terrain, often operating in areas inaccessible to vehicles, such as swamps, deserts, and mountain ranges.
