U.S. Army tests Anduril's Heimdal counter-drone sensor on southern border
U.S. troops deployed an Anduril-built Heimdal sensor system near the New Mexico border in October to detect and track illegal drones, marking an operational expansion of equipment certified for use a year earlier.
What happened
Soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment set up Anduril's Heimdal Mobile Trailer Kit on October 21 near Chaparral, New Mexico, as part of Joint Task Force-Southern Border operations. The trailer is a mobile counter-drone system that combines radar, thermal cameras, and a rotating pan-and-tilt unit to find and track targets autonomously.
The test follows Heimdal's first major deployment exactly one year earlier at Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota, where it earned operational certification. U.S. Northern Command purchased the full counter-drone fly-away kit, which pairs Heimdal with Anduril's Anvil interceptor drones, Pulsar electronic warfare system, and Wisp infrared sensor. The kit was delivered in September 2025.
The southern border deployment comes amid high drone activity in the region. In the 30 days before a counter-drone exercise in Arizona that ended in late September, the task force recorded 378 drone detections, 75 turnbacks, and 15 takedowns. Military officials said most border drones are commercial quadcopters used for reconnaissance by human-trafficking networks, and no confirmed lethal-payload drone has crossed so far.
Background
The Joint Task Force-Southern Border, operating under U.S. Northern Command's Operation Ardent Vanguard, has been tasked with countering illegal drone flights across the U.S.-Mexico border. Most detected drones are commercial systems, often used to scout routes for trafficking operations. In recent years, the U.S. military and Department of Homeland Security have accelerated efforts to detect and intercept these aircraft. Anduril's Heimdal system is one of several counter-drone tools being tested at the border and elsewhere. Anduril has also won broader Pentagon contracts for drone-interceptor technology, including a $250 million award.
What to watch next
The military has not disclosed how long the Heimdal trailer will remain in New Mexico or how many units the task force has available. Future developments to watch include whether the system detects drones operationally, results from the border deployment, and any expansion to additional locations or permanent stationing.
Sources
- Original report: U.S. troops test Anduril’s Heimdal drone sensor on southern border (The Defence Blog, Nov 4, 2026) Defense media
Written by Anduril News with AI assistance from the original report and other coverage, in plain English. It can contain mistakes; check the original for anything important. How we write these.
