Boeing Successfully Tests First SBInet Mobile Sensor Tower

Tower and components prove functional

04/04/07

Secure Border Initiative (SBI) integrated mobile sensor tower Credit: The Boeing Company

The tests validated the tower's infrastructure to ensure it can be deployed while meeting established technical criteria, including the interfaces between power, data, cameras, radar and the tower's security system.

According to Dr. Kirk Evans, SBInet program manager, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), "The tower and its components functioned as expected, and we are confident that the design is repeatable for deployment along the border."

Once operational, the 98-foot high tower will detect and identify entries into the U.S. when they occur, allowing Border Patrol agents to respond effectively and efficiently to the entry and resolve the situation with appropriate law enforcement. The tower houses cameras, radar, wireless data access points, communications and computer equipment, and a tower security system.

When combined with Border Patrol agent vehicle modifications, the mobile sensor towers will provide surveillance data to the Common Operating Picture, a critical component of U.S. Customs and Border Protection's comprehensive border security solution.

The first tower will arrive at the Tucson, Ariz., assembly center in time for a mid-April deployment. All nine towers currently on task for the Southwest border will be deployed by the end of May. Engineers then will configure the towers in the field and their interfaces with the SBInet COP and agent vehicles. "Project 28," the initial operational task order for SBInet, is scheduled for operational deployment in June.

"The successful completion of the first integrated mobile sensor tower test is a significant program milestone," said Jerry McElwee, Boeing vice president, Secure Border Initiative. "Not only does it cement the integrity of our design for a major program component, but it also sets the stage for repeatable deliveries."

SBI is a comprehensive multi-year plan to secure America's borders. SBInet is the program component of SBI responsible for integrating critical areas such as personnel, infrastructure, technologies and rapid response capability into a systems approach to border protection.

Source: The Boeing Company