Anduril Industries Extended Range Sentry Tower (XRST)

The Extended Range Sentry Tower (XRST) from Anduril Industries (USA) is an autonomous surveillance tower with a sensor head on a 24-metre mast (80 ft). It was introduced in May 2024, detects, classifies and tracks objects, and runs on the Lattice software. The stated fields of use are the military and critical infrastructure; the main customer is the US border agency CBP.

The detection range is up to 12 km (7.5 miles) in clear line of sight, of which the system works autonomously beyond 5 miles (about 8 km). The figure applies to objects in general, not specifically to small drones, and small targets are lost earlier than large ones. The tower is a pure sensor without effectors and can be redeployed as an expeditionary mast.

As a pure sensor the tower does not act on drones; for the effectors of other systems the state reservation applies. Who may operate jammers is set by § 91 TKG in Germany and Art. 42 of the Electronic Communications Law (Dz.U. 2024 item 1221) in Poland: authorities only. Active defence remains with the state: in Poland under Art. 156ze of the Aviation Law (Dz.U. 2025 item 179), in Germany with the police, whom the armed forces support under § 15a LuftSiG through administrative assistance. Detection alone can be considered by operators of critical infrastructure, airports and event organisers; radio detection touches the secrecy of telecommunications (Fernmeldegeheimnis), and its classification is considered open.

With a 24 m mast, wind load, anchoring and stability come into play; in operation, power supply, data link and the cleanliness and calibration of the sensor head count. The classification that turns an object into a drone depends on software, and its updates are part of upkeep. As part of a counter-drone set-up the tower supplies the picture; the response lies with other systems or response forces.