Apr 24, 2026
Four pieces of news, connected, tell one story.
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The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), passed in July 2025, restricts federal surveillance tower funding to systems tested and federally accepted for autonomous capabilities.
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On April 2, 2026, the San Diego Union-Tribune published an investigative report on the next-generation autonomous surveillance towers deployed along the U.S.–Mexico border, identifying Phoenix-based PureTech Systems as the AI provider inside General Dynamics Information Technology's (GDIT) tower deployment — 203 towers, 566 miles of coverage, under a $1.8 billion federal contract.
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On April 16, 2026, CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott testified before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security: "We have four vendors now that have passed the autonomy test." (Hearing video, 1:23:45.)
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On April 22, 2026, GDIT announced that its towers received U.S. Customs and Border Protection certification — validated as meeting the autonomy requirements set by OBBBA for funding and deployment under CBP's Consolidated Tower & Surveillance Equipment (CTSE) program.
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PureActiv is the autonomy software driving that certified system.
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Connecting the dots:
• FedScoop coverage of Commissioner Scott's testimony, April 16, 2026: DHS moves forward on autonomous surveillance towers at the border | FedScoop
• Scott's "four vendors" remarks on video at 1:23:45: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3z9omEXzdQs&t=5025s
• GDIT's Autonomous Surveillance Towers Certified by U.S. Customs and Border Protection — Homeland Security Today: GDIT’s Autonomous Surveillance Towers Certified by U.S. Customs and Border Protection - HSToday
• GDIT Relocatable Autonomous Surveillance Tower (RAST) program: Relocatable Autonomous Surveillance Tower (RAST) | GDIT
• Read the original San Diego Union-Tribune story → New AI surveillance towers from General Dynamics deployed along U.S.-Mexico border in San Diego – San Diego Union-Tribune
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© San Diego Union-Tribune. Republished with permission. Original reporting by Noelle Harff, published April 2, 2026. Read original → New AI surveillance towers from General Dynamics deployed along U.S.-Mexico border in San Diego – San Diego Union-Tribune