Company wants to expand border towers

FORT WORTH, Texas — A Fort Worth defense contractor that monitors part of the U.S.Mexico border with high-tech surveillance towers is looking to expand the technology in more states along the southern border.

Elbit Systems of America has operated dozens of towers along the border in Arizona since 2015 under a $145 million contract with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Fort Worth StarTelegram reported. The Texas company is a U.S. subsidiary of Israeli defense contractor Elbit Systems.

The 80- to 120-foot towers are equipped with radar sensors and cameras to detect motion along 200 miles of the Arizona border. The monitoring is used as an early warning system so that a Border Patrol agent can be dispatched, if needed.

“They’re able to determine, are individuals carrying backpacks, which might be an indication of drug loads, or are they carrying weapons, which might indicate a higher level of threat,” said Gordon Kesting, the Texas contractor’s vice president of homeland security.

Elbit officials said they’re eager to expand the tower system in Texas, New Mexico and California as President Donald Trump continues talks on border security, including Monday in El Paso.

Bob Edmonds, Elbit’s vice president of marketing, said the camera towers aren’t meant to replace a border wall, but to complement existing barriers in areas, such as El Paso.