Thread: Boeing gets heat on border ‘fence’

Boeing gets heat on border ‘fence’
Company faces big risks in testy political climate
By Tim Logan

In a dark control room at Border Patrol headquarters in Tucson, a Boeing Co. technician and a Border Patrol agent watch a radar map of a swath of desert 50 miles to the south.

If something catches their eye — a dot moving fast off the road, say, or a cluster at walking pace — they can zoom in with a high-powered
camera and take a look: Is it a rancher in his pickup? Or a van full of illegal immigrants? Drug smugglers? Or cows?

If they think it’s suspicious, they can call the nearest field agent, beam the video to a computer in his or her SUV, and tell the agent to go check it out.

This is how SBInet, a Boeing-led network of towers with radars and cameras, is supposed to work — providing a technological edge in securing the vast U.S. border with Mexico. But more than a year in, it’s not quite there yet, and Boeing is getting battered as a result.

To make the system work, Boeing has upgraded technology and hardware. But it has already spent more than twice the $20 million it is contracted to receive for the job.

Testing was expected to wrap up by the end of November, and company officials said they were confident that, this time, the project would meet the Border Patrol’s specifications.

“For a demonstration project, we’re pretty happy with where it is right now,â€

[quote]“I am not going to buy something with U.S. government money unless I’m satisfied it works in the real world,â€

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http://www.alipac.us/article2757.html

Won't it be interesting if some Boeing workers get killed by Mexican military or drug smugglers? Then will big business get the picture?

Rather than pay Billions od dollars to re-invent the wheel, you would thimg Boeing might look at border fences in Israel,

see link - http://www.palestinefacts.org/pf_curren ... _fence.php

These fences manage to keep out terrorists.

Originally Posted by magyart

Rather than pay Billions od dollars to re-invent the wheel, you would thimg Boeing might look at border fences in Israel,

see link - http://www.palestinefacts.org/pf_curren ... _fence.php

These fences manage to keep out terrorists.

I agree. It's an expensive red herring.

Originally Posted by Gogo

Won't it be interesting if some Boeing workers get killed by Mexican military or drug smugglers? Then will big business get the picture?

They will pay off the families and keep it quiet.