The Department of Homeland Security plans to experiment with operating “reconnaissance” drones along the US-Canada border

US Department of Homeland Securityin collaboration with Defense Research and Development Canada, is looking to field autonomous aircraft Drones and vehicles along the US-Canada border this fall, to test products that can stream surveillance video and sensor data between the two countries using commercial 5G networks.

A new DHS call for participants frames the experiment, known as ACE-CASPER, as a multi-day exercise that “simulates a national emergency response scenario,” in which drones and ground vehicles transmit live feeds to a binational command and control center as they cross the border. The document notes that the vehicle’s autonomy is secondary to its primary goal: demonstrating “flexible and continuous 5G communications.”

DHS and DRDC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The tests, scheduled for November, will be the first joint US-Canada cross-border technology trial along their shared border in nearly a decade. From 2011 to 2017, the two governments conducted five cross-border exercises under the programme It’s called the reasonto test whether emergency responders on both sides of the line can share radio, video and data with their counterparts across the border.

Although couched in the areas of public safety, search and rescue, and emergency response, DHS describes many of the capabilities the trial will exercise in military terms, asking vendors to demonstrate, for example, the ability of autonomous vehicles to gather “real-time battlefield intelligence.” The desired air systems are described as “Command and Control: Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance” – or C2ISR – platforms. Borrowed abbreviation from Pentagonassociated with improving “kill chains”.

DHS announced the drone trials through government procurement channels by the Department’s Research and Development Branch, the Science and Technology (S&T) Directorate, in partnership with its northern counterpart in Canada Defense Research and Development.

The Directorate is located at the technical center of the US Federal Government’s domestic counter-drone program after restructuring by law Executive order President Donald Trump signed it in 2025. Last week, S&T’s National Urban Security Technology Laboratory launched a project Anti-drone purchasing tooldesigned to guide police and emergency response agencies in the Washington, D.C., area — and the 11 U.S. states hosting FIFA World Cup matches this summer.

The same package of executive orders also prioritized the purchase of US-made drones and reserved government contract opportunities for domestic manufacturers, marking the opening of a key market for the US drone industry, which was further expanded by the recent FCC. hiring Which prevents new foreign-made drones from accessing American wireless networks.

Any group of companies able to respond to the November trial call will include multiple vendors with ties to the president’s eldest children.

Powerus, a Florida-based drone manufacturer It recently merged with a golf course company Which has the support of Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., is one. Anduril Industrieswhere Trump Jr.’s private company I invested last yearproduces a range of battlefield surveillance-oriented drones for the Pentagon, while holding the largest border security contract for the Department of Homeland Security: Agreement worth $1.1 billion To deploy artificial intelligence-powered watchtowers along the southern border.

“Powerus welcomes any effort by DHS to enhance border security through advanced autonomous systems,” Brett Velicovich, Powerus co-founder, told WIRED. “Protecting America’s borders is exactly the mission for which our technology was built, and we are encouraged to see the government moving urgently in this direction.”

Unusual Machines, an Orlando, Florida, company that makes drone components where Trump Jr. previously worked He served as a consultant It acquired shares worth about $4.4 million today, and does not sell directly to the government, a company spokesperson told WIRED, but rather sells to suppliers who do.

Xtend, the Israeli drone maker now Supported by Eric Trumpalso Headquarters opened in Tampa, Florida In the summer of 2025, A Multi-million dollar contract from the Pentagon’s Special Operations Office last fall. Xtend declined WIRED’s request for comment.