Now there's a good idea to cover those open desert areas in AZ.
GR-40
Posted on 02/03/2006 7:31:57 PM PST by SC33
Howard Fischer/Capitol Media Services
PHOENIX - A Senate panel voted Thursday to spend $20 million of state tax dollars to lease ground radar systems for one year to help locate and catch people sneaking into this country illegally.
The 4-3 vote came despite objections from some that Arizona taxpayers should not be picking up the cost of a burden that should be borne by the federal government.
"This is really no different than us paying $20 million to put the National Guard down there,'' said Sen. Bill Brotherton, D-Phoenix, something Brotherton believes should be financed by Congress. "My concern is we're using more and more of our budget to basically pay for what is a federal government role.''
Sen. Jake Flake, R-Snowflake, said he agrees with Brotherton - at least philosophically.
"But they're not doing it,'' Flake continued. And the result, he said, is that Arizona taxpayers are getting socked with millions of dollars of costs for both providing services to and arresting those not here legally.
"I think it will save money in the long run,'' he said.
The legislation, SB 1273, is being pushed by Senate Majority Leader Tim Bee. The Tucson Republican said the system has proved its reliability in southwest Arizona where the Marine Corps is using it to protect the Goldwater Bombing Range from intruders, both for the security of the facility as well as to prevent civilians who wander into the area from being maimed or killed.
Sen. Jim Waring, R-Phoenix, who saw it in operation, called it a "relatively flawless system.''
It actually consists of two parts.
One is the radar unit which can spot objects as small as individuals as far as three miles from the unit or larger targets, like cars, six miles away. But it normally is linked to cameras so that monitors can see what the blips on the screen actually are and, if appropriate, notify Border Patrol.
But Larry Pike, lobbyist for Scottsdale-based Sensor Technologies & Systems Inc. which has loaned the equipment to the Marines, conceded that the $20 million in the legislation buys only so much, perhaps protecting only 50 to 100 miles of the state's 370 miles of international border. And the funding, while leasing the system, does not include the staffing to watch the computer screens and video monitors, though Pike told lawmakers his company would provide training.
Bee said he presumes that local police departments would do the monitoring.
The legislation, even if approved, does not guarantee that the Scottsdale firm will get the contract. Pike said other companies which have similar technology will be entitled to submit bids.
While the measure was approved on a party-line vote, with Republicans in favor, it remains unclear whether Democratic Gov. Janet Napolitano would support it.
The governor included funds in her proposed budget for equipment and technology for law enforcement to deal with issues of border security. One item she suggested was "smart fence infrared detection technology.''
Gubernatorial press aide Jeanine L'Ecuyer said she did not know whether the ground based radar was sufficiently similar to get Napolitano's support.
Now there's a good idea to cover those open desert areas in AZ.
GR-40
How about allocating about $2 billion to build a wall, instead of wasting $20 million on radar that will just tell us when someone has crossed the border.
The wall needs to be similar to the one in Palestine and burried about 20 feet deep as well to prevent tunneling.
GBR technology can be built into the wall and used to monitor for any tunneling activity that may go under the 20 ft. mark.
Just think of how many tunnels we'll find just digging the trench for the new wall?
Water stations would be a whole lot sheaper.
How about a giant Hoover to suck out the 20 million already here and in plain view of EVERYONE?
What about deConcini's radar blimp already being used at Fort Huachuca?
Also the Air Force has AWACS that fly counterdrug orbits already through the southwest.
DHS Won't Use Radar Balloon to Spot Illegals See map of Aerostat detection range Designed to Fail Ft. Huachuca, Arizona -- According to military experts, the Aerostat radar balloon based on Ft. Huachuca could be used to spot illegal aliens but the Department of Homeland Security refuses to use it. "They don't want the public to know that they know," said a civilian UAV instructor based at Ft. Huachuca. According to one Aerostat operator, the system has an excess lifting capacity of 1500 pounds - more than enough to carry infrared and visual cameras aloft. "This is a true scandal," said Glenn Spencer of American Patrol. "It is another example of how the Border Patrol is designed to fail."
The Tethered Aerostat Radar System is a balloon-borne radar system. The primary aerostat mission is to provide low level radar surveillance data in support of federal agencies involved in the nation's drug interdiction program. Secondary mission is to provide North American Aerospace Defense Command with low level surveillance coverage for air sovereignty in the Florida Straights. One aerostat, located at Cudjoe Key, Fla., transmits TV Marti, which sends American television signals into Cuba for the Office of Cuba Broadcasting.
The aerostat is a large fabric envelope filled with helium. It can rise up to 15,000 feet while tethered by a single cable, which has a maximum breaking strength of 26,000 pounds. Normal operating height is 12,000 feet mean sea level.
The current aerostat network consists of two sizes of aerostats (275,000 cubic feet and 420,000 cubic feet) and two varieties of radars. The average aerostat is about two times the size of the Goodyear Blimp, i.e., the 420,000 cubic foot, aerodynamically shaped balloon measures 208 feet long by 65 feet across the hull, with a tip-to-tip tail span of 100 feet.
The aerostat system lifts a 1,200 pound or larger payload to operating altitude for low-level radar coverage. The aerostat consists of four major parts or assemblies: the hull, the windscreen and radar platform, the airborne power generator, and the rigging and tether assembly.
The hull of the aerostat contains two parts separated by a gas tight fabric partition. The upper chamber is filled with helium and provides the aerostat's lifting capability. The lower chamber of the hull is a pressurized air compartment called a ballonet. A sophisticated subsystem maintains constant pressurization of the ballonet, which maintains the shape of the aerostat's hull at all altitudes. The hull is constructed of a lightweight polyurethane-coated or Tedlar fabric that weighs only eight ounces per yard. The fabric is resistant to environmental degradation, minimizes helium leakage, and provides structural strength to the aerostat. The windscreen compartment contains the radar and is pressurized by the ballonet. The airborne power generator consists of an airborne engine control unit that drives the generator, and a 100 gallon fuel tank. All systems are operated by the aerostat's telemetry link to start and stop the engine and its generator. Finally, the rigging consists of the flying suspension lines connected to the main tether and mooring suspension lines.
The radar data of the aerostat is available to NORAD Command and the U.S. Customs Service. In addition, this information is available to a blockhouse ground station below, where a flight controller, seated before banks of meters and television screens, monitors the balloon's performance. All radar data is transmitted to the ground station, then digitized and fed to the various control centers for display. Doppler weather radars are installed at all sites. The sites obtain up-to-date forecasts and weather warnings from the Air Force Weather Agency.
Operators launch the aerostat from a large circular launch pad containing a mooring system (fixed or mobile), depending on the type of aerostat. The mooring systems contain a large winch with 25,000 feet of tether cable. During the launch sequence, the power winch releases the tether until the aerostat reaches operational altitude. When the aerostat is lowered, it is secured to a mooring tower and a rail system. While moored, the aerostat weather vanes with the wind.
Airborne time is generally limited only by the weather (60% standard operational availability) and routine maintenance downtime, which is minimal. Since the aerostats are stable in all winds below 65 knots, the aerostat program provides low-cost, one of a kind radar coverage uniquely suited for its given mission. Notwithstanding weather, aerostat and equipment availability averages more than 98 percent system wide.
The first aerostats were assigned to the United States Air Force in December 1980 at Cudjoe Key, Fla. with the original 250,000 CF aerostat. An additional site was constructed and operated by the USAF at Cape Canaveral, Fla. in 1983. This site was deactivated a few years later. During the 1980s, the U.S. Customs Service operated a network of aerostats to help counter illegal drug trafficking. Their first site was built at High Rock, Grand Bahamas Island, in 1984. The second site was built at Fort Huachuca, Ariz. in 1986. Prior to 1992, three agencies operated the TARS network to include the USAF, U.S. Customs Service and the U.S. Coast Guard. Congressional language in 1992 transferred management of the system to the Defense Department, with the Air Force as executive agent. Under Air Force management, through contract consolidation and system standardization, the operations and maintenance cost per site has been reduced approximately 50% from $6 million in Fiscal Year 1992 to the current rate of $2.8 million.
For security and safety reasons, the air space around USAF aerostat sites is restricted for a radius of at least two to three statute miles and an altitude up to 15,000 feet.
Primary Function: Low-level radar aircraft detection.
Prime Contractor: The sites are currently operated and maintained under contract with Lockheed Martin Systems Management. ILC Dover and Tethered Communications L.P. manufacture the aerostat-envelopes. Lockheed Martin manufactures the radars.
Volume: 275,000 and 420,000 cubic feet.
Tether Length: 25,000 feet.
Payload Weight: 1,200-2,200 pounds.
Maximum Detection Range: 200 Nautical Miles.
Date Deployed: 1978.
Operational Sites: Yuma and Fort Huachuca, Ariz.; Deming, N.M.; Marfa, Eagle Pass, and Rio Grande City, Texas; Cudjoe Key, Fla.; and Lajas, Puerto Rico. Sites located at Morgan City, La. and Matagorda, Texas are in a cold storage configuration. Contract Management Office and logistics hub are located in Chesapeake Va.
Point of Contact:
Air Combat Command , Public Affairs Office; 115 Thompson St., Suite 211; Langley AFB, VA 23665-1987; DSN 574-5014 or (757) 764-5014; e-mail: acc.pai@langley.af.mil.
(Current as of January 2003)
ping
At what wind speed are these used.
If would help if they were good. Then they'd be better border radar readers.
When we sent troops to investigate the radar images, they'd be better border radar reader raiders.
If they were especially tough, they'd be badder better border radar reader raiders.
When they urinated, they'd be emptying their badder better border radar reader raider bladders.
I'm not sure the State of Arizona can afford that.
Now that sounds like a big ole bag of hot air ;^)
The tunnel they just found in San Diego was 85 feet down. You need to take additional measures like ground penetrating radar, seismophones, etc.
Support our Minutemen Patriots!
Be Ever Vigilant!
I'm talking about the U.S. congress allocating the money, not the state of Arizona.
New border radar system, with add on accessories.
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