Boeing's SBInet contract gets the axe Napolitan
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Napolitano says virtual fence can't meet objectives, plans mix of new technologies.
Boeing Co.’s multibillion-dollar “SBInet” contract for an electronic border surveillance system along the United State-Mexico border is no more.
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced today that her department is canceling the remainder of the troubled effort and adopting a mix of new technologies that will be tailored to the terrain and needs of each border region.
The announcement came at the completion of a year-long reassessment of the controversial Secure Border Initiative Network (SBInet) program. Development and construction of a 28-mile prototype and a 53-mile permanent segment of SBInet in Arizona has cost about $1 billion.
Initial plans developed in 2005 and 2006 called for SBInet to extend across the entire U.S.-Mexico land border. Boeing was to build a system of cameras, radars and sensors strung on towers and linked to command and control centers.
Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), the ranking member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, also issued a statement today describing SBInet as a “grave and expensive disappointment” that has cost taxpayers nearly $1 billion for only 53 miles of coverage.
https://washingtontechnology.com/articles/201...order.aspx
SO THE IDEA WAS TO "WATCH" THE BORDER, NOT SECURE IT!