Representative Martha McSally touted the fact that the House Committee on Appropriations voted to increase funding for the deployment of Integrated Fixed Towers along the border by $38 million in its fiscal year 2016 Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Appropriations bill. McSally has repeatedly called for the increased use of border technology assets like Integrated Fixed Towers to improve our border strategy.
In February, McSally invited her supporters to the home Colin P. McCavitt for her first Phoenix area fundraiser since being elected to Congress last year. McCavitt is president of Stara Technologies Inc. which specializes in “developing and deploying technologies that meet the immediate operational needs of the US Government.”
“She has actively worked to establish a better border strategy, including successfully offering an amendment to the Secure Our Borders First Act that directs Border Patrol resources to be placed at the border, requires more manpower at forward operating bases, and requires additional manning and deployment of air assets to rapidly respond to incursions in remote areas,” reads McSally’s statement released on Thursday.
According to its website, “STARA engages in the research, design, development, and production of system solutions and components for commercial and military use on Forward Operating Bases (FOBs), aircraft, helicopters, missiles, spacecraft, marine craft, and ground vehicles in the United States and internationally.”
STARA makes a Ground Surveillance Tower (GST), which “is a ground-based, mobile, multi-sensor payload platform that supports persistent wide area 360º ground surveillance operations. Designed to safeguard Forward Operating Bases (FOBs) and borders, the GST detects and monitors activities and persons of interest with various FMV, WAS, and GMTI sensors. Each GST is custom crafted to customer’s requirements and mission parameters.”
According to the Green Valley News, McSally, who sits on the Committee on Homeland Security, helped “craft The Secure Our Borders Act, which retools border strategy by emphasizing technology, National Guard funding and new infrastructure, among other measures.”