Lockheed Among Finalists Bidding On Border Contract

A portable surveillance tower at San Luis, Ariz., overlooks the border with Mexico. The tower is part of the Homeland Security Department effort to help stop illegal immigration. (By Melina Mara -- The Washington Post)

Some of the nation's largest defense contractors were among the firms yesterday that submitted bids on a multi-billion dollar Homeland Security Department contract designed to shore up the nation's porous borders and help curb illegal immigration.

The Secure Border Initiative, which has at its heart a six-year, $2 billion contract, is intended to give the United States a comprehensive solution to its persistent border problems. Homeland Security officials have said they are looking for a contractor that can bring together technology, Border Patrol staff members and barriers to keep illegal immigrants on the other side of the nearly 7,000 miles of U.S. land that borders Mexico and Canada.

While the government says it will leave the details to the contractor, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has mentioned a desire to see increased use of unmanned drones, better detection technology and expanded detention facilities, among other elements.

The competition for the job is down to teams organized by five companies -- Lockheed Martin Corp., Raytheon Co., Northrop Grumman Corp., Boeing Co. and Ericsson. Homeland Security officials are expected to pick a winner in the fall, following oral presentations from each of the competing firms.

Lockheed of Bethesda, which like the other four companies did not release details of its proposal because the competition remains active, said its bid included a recommendation to use the Border Patrol's existing systems as well as "new and upgraded capabilities."

"We understand the problem well. And we've got a lot of experience in Homeland Security with a number of large programs," Lockheed spokesman Keith Mordoff said.

In announcing its bid, Raytheon of Tewksbury, Mass., pointed to its experience as the lead contractor for the System for Vigilance of the Amazon, a program designed to protect two million square miles of rainforest in Brazil. That program, unveiled in 2002, uses sensors on the ground, in the air and in space to give officials a unified picture of what is happening across an area that is more than two-thirds as large as the continental United States. Raytheon also holds the contract for a system that will use cameras and radars to give officials an up-to-the-second view of the security environment at each of the New York area's four major airports.

Lockheed recently won a major contract to do video surveillance of the New York subway, and it makes a high-altitude surveillance blimp. Northrop manufactures the pilotless Global Hawk drone.

Raytheon said yesterday that if it wins the contract, its subcontractors would include Apogen Technologies Inc. of McLean, BAE Systems Inc. of Rockville, and Bechtel National Inc. of Frederick.

"We've been studying the border enforcement problem for the last two years, and we feel confident that we understand the challenges and have the best solution," Raytheon Vice President Gene Blackwell said in a statement.

Los Angeles-based Northrop's partners for its proposal include Anteon International Corp. and SRA International Corp, both of Fairfax, and BearingPoint Inc. of McLean.

A spokesman for Boeing of Chicago said the firm would release the names of its partners today.

A spokesman for Ericsson of Stockholm could not be reached for comment.