Nine high-tech towers that form the backbone of the Department of Homeland Security's latest "virtual wall" test program in some of the most God-forsaken land in the US the desert southwest of Tucson are up, but their launch has been delayed. The 98-foot towers — equipped with cameras, radars and sensors in a 28-mile area flanking Sasabe as part of the SBInet Project 28 — were originally scheduled to become operational Wednesday. But that start date has been pushed back, said Xavier Rios, a Border Patrol spokesman.
The Boeing Co., which is being paid $20 million to administer the pilot project, is testing the towers and training agents in preparation for a system launch in the coming weeks, Rios said. No date has been set.
The towers will send surveillance information to command centers and agents' vehicles equipped with special laptop computers. |