SEAGUARD

Illegal activities across external borders (land and maritime) are a threat to the security of the European Union. Better border surveillance capabilities are required to deter and monitor irregular border crossings. These should be interoperable across member states, ranging from the Mediterranean to the Nordic Countries, which have different border surveillance challenges. These should also be scalable, flexible and relocatable, since the needs along borders shift rapidly in time, with changing and improving threats. SEAGUARD project aims to address these needs. Situational awareness technologies will play a crucial role in the future of maritime border security by providing real-time information about the maritime environment, including vessel movements, cargo, and potential threats. The SEAGUARD project aims at developing an innovative and integrated approach to maritime cross-border surveillance that will enhance border security and management in Europe. The scope of this project includes the design, development, testing, and deployment of a cross-border surveillance system that will incorporate multiple sensing technologies integrated in both fixed and mobile platforms. This project will combine unmanned vehicles (Unmanned Aerial, Surface and Underwater Vehicles - UxVs), fixed buoys, (SMART) submarine cables, with advanced analytics and decision support. The system will be able to monitor and detect various types of threats, including illegal border crossings, smuggling of contraband, illegal fisheries and terrorist activities. The project will leverage new technologies and data analytics, enhanced by multi-domain autonomous cooperative platforms and multimodal communications, to provide real-time information and situational awareness to multiple border guards and other authorities, enabling them to detect and respond to potential threats coming from the air, surface or underwater, more effectively.