Lockheed applies to ASU
Arizona State University will offer Lockheed Martin its border security research facilities as the defense contractor aims at the federal Secure Border Initiative contract vehicle.
Lockheed Martin is enrolling in a partnering arrangement with Arizona State University on the federal Secure Border Initiative (SBInet), a comprehensive multiyear plan to secure America’s borders and reduce illegal immigration.
The school will offer its advanced border security research capability on the Tempe campus, home to the North American Center for Transborder Studies.
The research center, which also has facilities in Canada and Mexico, works closely with federal policy-makers and links governmental agencies with academic institutions to study and provide recommendations on migration, technology, environmental and economic development issues.
Lockheed Martin said it was attracted to ASU because it has a strong history of research in technical areas of border security, including three-dimensional face scanning, sensor and wireless networks, and biometrics.
Further details probably will not be available until the company and other contractors meet with Homeland Security Department officials in about two weeks to make their oral presentations on the SBInet contract, said Keith Mordoff, a Lockheed Martin spokesman.
According to industry sources, DHS officials have narrowed the field of potential prime contractors to five: Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, Boeing and Ericsson.
SBInet could cost as much as $2 billion, according to some estimates.
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