Boeing wins US border security contract: report

WASHINGTON: Defence giant Boeing Co. has won a $2.1 billion contract to help the Department of Homeland Security beef up security along more than 7,500 miles of US borders with Mexico and Canada, The Washington Post reported.   

The newspaper said several congressional and industry sources confirmed that Boeing had defeated four other companies in the intensely fought contract competition. A public announcement was planned on Wednesday, the report said.   

A Boeing spokesman had no immediate comment.   

Under the Secure Border Initiative (SBI) contract, Boeing will help unify existing technologies and install new tracking sensors and communications equipment so border agents can better monitor regions that range from urban centers to desert, to huge lakes and forested mountains.    

Boeing, teamed with L-3 Communications Holdings Inc, Unisys Corp and others in its bid, which relies on more than 300 radar towers along the borders. Some would be supplemented by cameras developed by Israel's Elbit that can spot people at up to 14 kilometers and vehicles at up to 20 kilometres.   

In its pitch for the contract, Boeing's SBInet program director Jerry McElwee stressed the company's low-cost, best-value approach and said the company's integration of other major programs, including the Army's Future Combat Systems, gave it the needed experience.   

The Boeing team competed against US defence contractors, Lockheed Martin Corp, Northrop Grumman Corp and Raytheon Co, as well as Sweden's Ericsson for the contract.