Can You Really Build a 700-Mile-Long Fence?
Proposed U.S. border defense depends on many kinds of technology beyond physical infrastructure

by Russell Boniface
Associate Editor

Summary: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) aims to strengthen security along U.S. northern and southern borders through its Secure Border Initiative, a comprehensive multi-year plan to reduce illegal migration. And although at the end of September, Congress approved construction of a 700-mile section of fence along the U.S.-Mexican border—at a cost of $1.2 billion—they quickly followed up with separate legislation stating the “virtual fence” is not a physical barrier in most places. The earmarked money may also be spent on roads, technology, and “tactical infrastructure,” including surveillance equipment.

A critical component of the initiative is SBInet, a three-year initiative led by Aerospace giant Boeing that focuses on increased technology and infrastructure. A model of the SBInet initiative will be deployed at the Southwest border during the next eight months, where the strategy will ultimately focus. SBInet was conceived eventually to support 6,000 miles of “border security awareness,” and that first eight-month phase will cover 28 miles of border near Tucson. DHS currently is implementing $500 million for additional infrastructure along borders that, in addition to construction of new fences and barriers, includes:

• Expanding roads and lighting
• Developing new stations and bases along the border
• Expanding the amount of detention bed space
• Increasing border towers.

Infrastructure enhancement is already under way in other areas, including a 14-mile border infrastructure system in San Diego.

Building a virtual fence
Last month, DHS awarded Boeing Integrated Defense Systems a contract for the technology component of the SBI effort. Boeing will lead a partnership of high-tech companies in the effort to create a defensive barrier that incorporates:

• Ground-based radar and sensors
• Communication devices that receive visual images from sensor arrays
• Cameras that skew to track a particular target
• Smart fencing technology
• Expanded use of unmanned aerial vehicles
• Images from aircraft and other overhead assets that help the field of operations.

“DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff points out that the border is a mix of different kinds of environments, ranging from urban areas to very remote and desolate rural areas or wilderness areas, where there's more distance to be covered. “SBInet, as a critical element, has been designed to be a flexible tool. It is not a cookie-cutter approach. We want to detect intrusions. We want to be able to know when anybody or anything is crossing that border … the technology has to allow us to characterize in an efficient fashion and cull out those intrusions that we don't care about.”

"Being selected to support customs and border protection as they secure our nation's borders is a testament to the strength of our team and the expertise, talent, and focus that we bring to this task," said George Muellner, president of Boeing Advanced Systems for Boeing Integrated Defense Systems. "Our team is absolutely committed to making SBInet a success, and we are ready to respond immediately to our customer in the detailed design and deployment of this critical solution to enhance our nation's border security system."