SBInet Implementation
Since Boeing was awarded the contract for SBInet on 21 September 2006, the following had been announced by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) as measures taken to secure U.S. borders:
On 20 October 2006, Project 28 Task Order was signed. CBP announced the award of Project 28, the first operational task order awarded to The Boeing Company as part of the SBInet contract. Project 28 will be implemented along 28 miles of border flanking the Sasabe, Arizona port of entry (POE). Project 28 will demonstrate SBInet system's capabilities by deploying sensor towers, unattended ground systems and upgrades to existing CBP Border Patrol vehicles and communications systems.
On 12 January 2007, the Barry M. Goldwater Range Task Order Phase I was signed. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced the award of Phase I of BMGR Project 37 Initial (9 Mile) Section task order for the lay down of tactical infrastructure. The purpose of the effort is to develop and install the proper mix of technology and infrastructure along the BMGR border with Mexico needed to mitigate illegal border crossings currently interfering with Department of Defense activities. A physical barrier and technology-based solution along the designated portion of the BMGR will support SBInet key elements to detect, identify, classify and effectively respond to border incursions by personnel and vehicles.
On 20 March 2007, Fence Lab Task Order was signed. The Fence Lab task order will test effective low-cost fencing solutions that can be reproduced for rapid deployment along the Southwest border. Previous fencing solutions were often costly, difficult to install, had considerable infrastructure requirements to build and deploy, and offered no standardized design for maintenance and support. The Boeing Company has been awarded a Cost Plus Award Fee task order for the test and evaluation of fencing solutions under the SBInet prime contract. Boeing collaborated with Sandia National Laboratories and the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) to test eight prototype concepts of fencing at TTI's highway barriers testing facilities at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas.
On 30 March 2007, SBInet completed tests of the first Mobile Sensor Tower. The first SBInet integrated mobile sensor tower was tested successfully in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. The tower was a key element of the mobile component of the SBInet system. It provided the relocatable version of the platform for SBInet's main sensing capability that would deliver the ability to detect and identify entries into the U.S. when they occur. The technology provided by the tower will allow the Border Patrol to effectively and efficiently respond to the entry and resolve the situation with appropriate law enforcement. The tower houses cameras, radars, wireless data access points, communications and computer equipment and a tower security system to prevent tampering with its operations. When combined with Border Patrol agent vehicle modifications, the mobile sensor towers would provide surveillance data to the Common Operating Picture as a critical component of CBP's comprehensive border security solution.
On 26 April 2007, the first Mobile Sensor Tower arrived in Arizona.
The installation of the first mobile sensor tower was part of SBInet integrated technology on the border. Nine 98-foot high towers were used in Project 28, the initial phase of SBInet along a 28-mile stretch of the border near Sasabe, Arizona. Each integrated mobile sensor tower houses cameras, radars, wireless data access points, communications and computer equipment, and a tower security system. When combined with vehicle modifications, the towers provided surveillance data to a Common Operating Picture (COP), a critical component of CBP's comprehensive border security solution. When combined with the COP and agent vehicle upgrades, the towers allowed the Border Patrol to detect, identify and track entries into the U.S. when they occur. SBInet was on schedule to deliver enhanced situational awareness and increased mission effectiveness by mid-June to Border Patrol agents in the Sasabe area.
The initial deployment of SBInet capabilities is referred to as SBInet Block 1, which includes deployment of towers with a suite of integrated day and night cameras, radars, unattended ground sensors, and a communications relay. Block 1 also includes a COP, which links towers and sensors within an area of operations, and feeds information to a display in a Border Patrol command center, providing situational awareness of what is happening at the border. The Block 1 system completed Systems Qualification Testing in January 2009 at the Field Test Lab in Playas, N.M., the first of three testing milestones in the SBInet development process.
The Tucson-1 (TUS-1) and Ajo-1 (AJO-1) projects in Arizona were the first operational deployments of the SBInet Block 1 system and will cover a total of 53 miles of the international border with Mexico. TUS-1 overlay the prototype deployment of SBInet, known as Project 28 or P-28. TUS-1 underwent operational testing early in 2010 to ensure it meets Border Patrol needs, and to advise decisions about the pace and extent of further SBInet deployments. Based on results of this operational testing, DHS would decide whether to authorize full deployment of SBInet Block 1 throughout Arizona.
Construction for TUS-1 was complete in August 2009. TUS-1 underwent individual system component testing in preparation for Systems Acceptance Testing (SAT). Successful completion of SAT would have led to government acceptance of the system that will be handed to the Border Patrol for operational assessment.
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