DHS Plans Joint US-Canada Drone and Vehicle Test Along Northern Border

The US Department of Homeland Security is collaborating with Defense Research and Development Canada on an experiment scheduled for November that will send autonomous drones and ground vehicles along the US-Canada border. The test, known as ACE-CASPER, will evaluate which systems can stream surveillance video and sensor data between the two countries using commercial 5G networks.

The call for participants describes the multiday exercise as simulating a national emergency response scenario, with the vehicles relaying live feeds to a bi-national command-and-control center as they cross the border. Vehicle autonomy is listed as secondary to the primary goal of demonstrating resilient, persistent 5G communications.

The department announced the drone trials through government procurement channels by its Science and Technology Directorate in partnership with its Canadian counterpart. DHS and Defense Research and Development Canada did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The tests would be the first joint US-Canada cross-border technology experiment along their shared border in nearly a decade. From 2011 through 2017, the two governments staged five cross-border drills under a program called CAUSE that tested whether emergency responders could share radios, video and data across the border.

While the exercise is presented in the context of public safety, search and rescue, and emergency response, the department describes many of the capabilities in military terms. It asks vendors to demonstrate the ability of autonomous vehicles to gather real-time battlefield intelligence.

The sought-after aerial systems are described as Command and Control: Intelligence Surveillance Reconnaissance platforms, an acronym borrowed from the US Department of Defense. The Science and Technology Directorate sits at the technical center of the federal government's domestic counter-drone program following restructuring under an executive order signed by President Donald Trump in 2025.

Last week the directorate's National Urban Security Technology Laboratory launched a counter-drone purchasing tool designed to guide police and emergency-response agencies.

A universe of companies positioned to respond to the call for the November trials would include multiple vendors with ties to the president's elder adult sons. , is one such firm. 's own firm invested last year, produces drones geared toward battlefield surveillance for the Pentagon while holding a $1.1 billion DHS contract to deploy AI-powered surveillance towers along the southern border.

"Powerus welcomes any effort by DHS to strengthen border security through advanced autonomous systems," Powerus cofounder Brett Velicovich told WIRED. " Unusual Machines, an Orlando, Florida, drone-components maker where Trump Jr. previously served as adviser and received stock now worth roughly $4.4 million, does not sell directly to the government but does sell to suppliers who do.

Xtend, the Israeli drone maker now backed by Eric Trump, opened a Tampa, Florida, headquarters in summer 2025 and announced a multimillion-dollar contract from a Pentagon special-operations office last fall. Xtend declined a request for comment.