“Build that e-wall” just doesn’t have the same ring to it, but a virtual wall will have to be part of Donald Trump’s plan to secure the border, according to defense experts.
A solution would likely include a blend of assets, according to Matt Mayer, a visiting fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. While sections of flat ground along the border lend themselves to a physical wall, “more than a sliver of the border” includes rivers or mountainous terrain that make a virtual wall more practical.
Asked if a virtual wall would be a part of Trump’s plan, Mayer said, “I think it has to be because there are certain places on the southern border where you can not put a physical wall.”
One solution could come from the virtual fence from Elbit Systems of America, which includes a series of either fixed or mobile towers with solar-operated sensors that can spot objects approaching the border, identify if they are people or animals, and even see if people nearing the border are carrying backpacks. If a threat is detected, officials at a nearby workstation can deploy a mobile unit to investigate.
Elbit Systems of America does not place any physical fencing between the towers, though in some places other companies have erected fences that work together with the Elbit sensors. The firm is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Israel-based Elbit Systems.
Raanan Horowitz, chief executive officer of Elbit Systems of America, said his company has a Department of Homeland Security contract for a virtual wall along the Arizona border with Mexico, which has been operational and successful since last year.
Trump has made building a wall along the southern border a key part of his stance on immigration in the presidential campaign, leading chants to “build that wall” at rallies this year. He’s also promised to get Mexico to pay for the wall and promised to build it even taller when the Mexican president said that will never happen.
Defense industry expert Byron Callan wrote this month in a report for Capital Alpha Partners that Elbit could see “enhanced outlooks” from 2017 to 2020 if Trump is elected “because of its role in border security, and services firms might see increased spending related to homeland security and immigration controls.”
A physical wall could cost up to $5 million per mile, according to a Government Accountability Office report. But the Elbit system costs only about $850,000 per mile, making it a cheaper solution in rural places where sensors can see approaching threats.
With nearly 2,000 miles of border with Mexico, the full cost of a virtual wall would be about $1.7 billion.
The virtual fence is especially useful in rural areas, where sensors can see farther and anyone who crosses the border can be intercepted by officials easily, according to Gordon Kesting, the vice president of homeland security solutions at Elbit Systems of America. In urban areas, however, the sensors often don’t allow enough time to see and respond before a person is able to disappear into the city.
In cases like this, Kesting said the virtual fence can be used to complement other systems, like a physical fence. If the company were asked to cover the entire southern border of the U.S., it would likely take a blend of permanent sensor towers, mobile watch towers and physical walls depending on the landscape.
Horowitz said no one from the Trump campaign has contacted Elbit Systems of America and that he did not have enough specifics to comment on whether his product could be a good fit for what Trump is trying to do. He did, however, say it could be extended along an area as large as the entire southern border.
While Trump has made border security a key part of his campaign, Horowitz said whoever serves as the next president will have to deal with the issue of border security.
“I can tell you one thing. I think as a U.S. citizen, I think that securing the border is always going to be a priority,” he said. “It’s not just an issue with immigration, it’s an issue of just security for the nation. I’m confident that no matter who gets elected, this will continue to be a priority.”
