CBP Awards Elbit $370 Million Contract to Extend Border Surveillance Network

Elbit Systems of America has secured a $370 million contract with U.S. Customs and Border Protection to provide surveillance and sensing systems along the U.S. border, according to Calcalist Tech. The award marks one of the largest single U.S. homeland security contracts the Israeli-owned defense company has landed, and it consolidates Elbit’s position as a significant supplier to American federal agencies responsible for border management.

The deal was announced by Elbit Systems, the Israeli parent company, and involves its U.S.-based subsidiary, which has steadily grown its domestic footprint through a series of acquisitions and domestic program wins over the past decade. Financial details beyond the total contract value were not disclosed by either the company or CBP at the time of the announcement.

What the Contract Covers

Elbit has not publicly detailed the precise mix of systems covered under the contract, and CBP has not released a formal program description. Based on Elbit’s existing portfolio of border-security work in the United States, the company has previously supplied tower-mounted electro-optical and infrared sensor systems, ground surveillance radars, and integrated command-and-control software to federal border agencies — though officials have not confirmed which specific platforms are included in this particular award.

Elbit Systems of America has positioned itself in recent years as a full-spectrum border-security integrator, combining persistent surveillance hardware with data-fusion back-ends. That capability set aligns with CBP’s publicly stated interest in expanding remote sensing coverage to reduce reliance on personnel-intensive patrol methods, particularly in difficult or remote terrain segments of the southern border.

Deepening the U.S. Industrial Footprint

The contract reinforces a deliberate, long-running strategy by Elbit Systems to embed itself within the U.S. defense and security industrial base rather than compete purely as a foreign vendor. The company has made multiple acquisitions of American defense firms, established domestic manufacturing sites, and built a workforce that allows it to bid on U.S. government programs that carry domestic-content or security-clearance requirements.

That strategy has produced an expanding revenue stream from American customers across military and civilian agencies. The $370 million CBP award adds to a U.S. order book that, by the company’s own prior disclosures, has grown to represent a substantial share of Elbit’s total revenues. For GDD’s earlier look at Elbit’s broader capital and market strategy, see our coverage of Systems’ capital positioning.

The award also arrives at a moment of heightened U.S. federal attention to border infrastructure investment. The Biden and Trump administrations have both directed significant resources toward physical and technological border management, creating sustained procurement demand that companies with established CBP relationships are well placed to capture. Elbit, with existing program incumbency, is among those positioned to benefit from continued federal spending in this space.

The broader trend of allied and partner-nation defense firms deepening their U.S. market presence through domestic subsidiaries and acquisitions mirrors dynamics visible across the transatlantic defense sector, where rising NATO spending and U.S. procurement cycles have drawn sustained industrial investment — a pattern examined in GDD’s reporting on defense spending trends.