New tunnel detection test site in the works.

• Author: Magnuson, Stew
• Position: SECURITY BEAT

The Defense and Homeland Security Departments are expected to break ground during the coming year on a joint clandestine tunnel detection test site at the Yuma Proving Grounds in Arizona.

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Jason McKenna, senior research geophysicist at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, said the one-square-kilometer facility will provide a safe and sterile environment for technologists who are working on detecting illegal tunnels under the border.

There have been 112 tunnels discovered under the two U.S. borders since 1990. Twenty-four were found in 2008, according to Amy Clymer, senior analyst at U.S. Northern Command and operational manager of the rapid reaction tunnel joint capability development program, which partners with DHS' science and technology directorate.

Despite the researchers' efforts, today almost all tunnels are detected by human intelligence--tip offs to law enforcement officers--rather than by technology.

However, Clymer said three have been found using sensors recently. She declined to give details other than two were discovered by the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency and one by DHS. "We anticipate more in the near term," she said at an Institute for Defense and Government Advancement border security conference.

The military has been looking at tunnel detection technology for decades, but using sensors to find cavities underground has proven to be a tough challenge. The two departments began working together about five years ago, but no immediate fix has emerged.

McKenna said finding a catch-all sensor is almost impossible. The program is working on a...