Donald Trump has long promised he'll build wall at the U.S.-Mexico border. Some in his camp have suggested the barrier might be digital, rather than physical. If that ends up being the case, there's an Israeli company investors will be wise to keep an eye on.
At the center of Trump's immigration platform is a pledge to erect a wall at the Mexican border -- a wall he insists will be real. Some close to him, however, have indicated that wall may instead by virtual. Former Texas Governor Rick Perry made such a suggestion in July (though he has recently backed off of the claim). Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani has said the wall will be "technological as well as physical," and others in the Trump camp have made similar suggestions as well.
If Trump's wall does go digital, even in part, here is a company that could be enlisted to do the job: Elbit Systems (ESLT) . The firm has already undertaken such an endeavor in Arizona.
Elbit Systems of America, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Israeli-based defense electronics company Elbit Systems Ltd., was in 2014 awarded a $145.3 million contract from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to erect a virtual detection system at the U.S.-Mexico border, beating out out companies like Raytheon, Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics. Elbit Systems was involved in the West Bank wall separating the Occupied Palestinian Territories and Israel. For Arizona, the company was enlisted to install and maintain an integrated fixed towers system at the border for eight years, until the process would be transferred to U.S. Customs and Border Protection's (CBP) in-house division. An Elbit Systems representative did not return request for comment on the matter.
Thus far, nine of what will eventually be a total of 52 towers have been deployed, largely in and around Nogales, Ariz. The towers entail both radar and cameras, forming what a CBP spokesman described as a sort of "interlocking web of our ability to see what's going on out there." They transmit data over a microwave link to a station where agents can determine a course of action.
"We're saving a lot of manpower...having that constant capability, that persistent surveillance capability," the spokesman said.
Elbit Systems wouldn't necessarily be the only company in a position to build a virtual wall.
