Israeli defense firm Elbit wins $145 million contract to build surveillance towers along Arizona’s border with Mexico.

By i24NEWS

The Israeli defense company Elbit Systems confirmed on Wednesday that they had received a $145 million contract by the United States Department of Homeland Security to build security towers on Arizona’s border with Mexico.

Arizona’s border fence with Mexico – Photo: AFP

The company wrote in a press release on their website that the “Integrated Fixed Tower Project” would be implemented “over an approximately 12-month period.”

The work, which will apparently include cameras and radars with the capability to detect human movement, will be carried out by Elbit Systems of America, which is the company’s US subsidiary.

The Israeli defense giant works in international defense electronics and is involved in programs around the world in the areas of aerospace, command, control, communications, intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance, and unmanned aircrafts, among many other defense-related programs.

In response to the contract, Arizona Senator John McCain said that “Arizonans have been waiting more than a decade for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to place the needed technology along our border to support the Border Patrol and fully secure our Southern border.”

He called the contract “an important development toward fully securing the border in Arizona.”

“If this technology is developed, integrated and fielded correctly, these Integrated Fixed Towers in Southern Arizona, coupled with the tremendous work of the Border Patrol, will give our agents the ability to detect, evaluate, and respond to all illegal entries crossing our border,” McCain said, adding that he will be “closely overseeing” the project.

View  original i24NEWS publication at: http://www.i24news.tv/en/news/international/americas/140305-elbit-wins-major-us-defense-contract