U.S. Army Strykers armored vehicles expanded surveillance across the southern border.

The Army released photos showing Stryker units operating near Presidio, Texas, in support of U.S. Customs and Border Protection as part of Joint Task Force Southern Border. The deployment adds mobile patrol and sensor coverage across remote terrain, with troops assisting federal law enforcement rather than conducting independent policing.

Newly published Army images show Stryker crews patrolling the desert around Presidio, Texas, where soldiers assigned to Joint Task Force Southern Border are supporting CBP with mobility, reconnaissance, and presence patrols. The photos, dated Nov. 4, depict eight-wheeled Stryker vehicles operating along rugged routes while unit leaders coordinate daily with Border Patrol agents, a mission the Pentagon describes as assistance to federal law enforcement.
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Soldiers assigned to Joint Task Force-Southern Border operate a Stryker in Presidio, Texas (Picture source: US DoD)

At the battalion level, Joint Task Force–Southern Border (JTF SB) employs a mix of mobile surveillance teams, aviation support, logistics nodes, and signal detachments to stitch together a continuous picture of activity in difficult terrain. The 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, provides the backbone of ground mobility, with 1st Battalion, 41st Infantry Regiment cited by commanders for integrated patrols and detect-to-respond procedures with sector headquarters. Coverage runs from the Yuma area in Arizona to West Texas, where companies align patrol plans to individual Border Patrol sectors and share quick-reaction tasking when sensors detect movement between fixed points.

The Stryker family is the Army’s medium-weight wheeled maneuver tool. The infantry carrier variant is crewed by two and transports a nine-soldier squad, enabling rapid dismounts for searches and quick remounts to reposition. Road mobility is the platform’s main advantage: it sustains near-60 mph highway speeds (about 96 km/h) and a practical range beyond 300 miles (over 480 km) on roughly 50 gallons of fuel, enabling active patrolling rather than static presence. A central tire inflation system allows on-the-move pressure adjustments as routes shift from paved roads to sandy riverbanks and caliche.

Most vehicles in this mission mount the M153 Common Remotely Operated Weapon Station (CROWS). Here, the M153 Common Remotely Operated Weapon Station (CROWS) is used primarily as a stabilized electro-optical sensor head rather than a gun mount, providing day-night detection and location at up to about 2 miles (around 3.2 km). Crews use video and laser range data to generate precise coordinates that are passed to CBP agents, reducing response time when movement is spotted in brush or arroyos beyond the reach of fixed cameras.

Air-ground surveillance is layered. Army teams deploy the AN/MPQ-64 Sentinel radar to monitor low-altitude airspace and cue responses against small unmanned aerial systems flying above cover or along river valleys. Sentinel feeds complement cameras and patrols and, when paired with aviation units, help maintain a clean air picture over active sectors. This combination of ground optics, elevated sensors, and short-range radar gives JTF SB a flexible early-detection package, especially at dusk and dawn when traffickers test seams in fixed systems.

Rotations keep roughly 2,400 soldiers current on movement-to-contact drills, battle tracking, and interagency communications, while validating equipment in hot, dusty conditions that stress tires, optics, and connectors. For the defense industrial and technological base, the mission yields useful data on component reliability, from suspension wear to sight stabilization under continuous road vibration. These lessons feed depots and vendors, improving availability for other theaters.

The United States deploys Strykers to support Border Patrol by filling gaps in difficult areas, enhancing detection and response speed, and countering small drones with the AN/MPQ-64 Sentinel radar and M153 CROWS sensors used for day-night observation out to about 3.2 km. This mobile presence, capable of long road patrols, aims to deter and close bypass routes and reduce the time between detection and interception while remaining strictly in a technical and logistical support role. Primary targets include illegal crossings organized by smuggling networks and cartels, their scouts using radios and drones, fast convoys exploiting secondary tracks, discreet river crossings, and narcotics flows. Strykers help detect, locate, and enable interception of these activities. The mission sustains unit readiness and provides useful feedback to the defense industrial and technological base, while consolidating interagency interoperability and control of key terrain.