BORDER SECURITY MONITORING

Helping border agencies maintain territorial integrity through real-time situational awareness 

Overview

Traditional approaches to border security involve physical security, electro-optical surveillance, and radar. While these methods are essential, they have drawbacks, including limited coverage, scaling challenges, and human error.

Illegal activity at borders is often aided by communications devices that emit RF signals, such as cell phones, push-to-talk radios, or even radars. Therefore, by using a network of receivers and exploiting these signals, border forces can detect, classify, and geolocate emissions. Automated, passive 24/7 RF spectrum delivers a vast amount of additional intelligence, improving situational awareness without being overtly defensive. 

CRFS works with military border forces and border agencies to create passive ISR solutions capable of interconnecting land, air, and sea missions. These include vehicle, drone, and tethered drone integrations and support border agency and EW operations.

  • Highly sensitive RF receivers 

  • Passive 1–1000km surveillance missions 

  • Hostile neighbor monitoring

  • Land border crossing monitoring 

  • Coastal surveillance 

  • Port protection & smuggling 

  • Small & wide-area sensor networks 

  • EW integrations 

Border security monitoring applications

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Detect unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs)

RF monitoring systems detect and geolocate unauthorized and modified UAVs that may be used for surveillance, smuggling, or other illicit activities in border areas. 

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Passive air defense

Pasive RF monitoring across borders spanning thousands of kilometers can provide covert intelligence on hostile aircraft or ISR drones conducting reconnaissance missions. 

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National security

Closely monitoring borders gives border forces tactical advantages and strategic awareness—useful for both cross-border cooperation and countering potential threats.  

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Illegal immigration control

Spectrum monitoring can help geolocate and monitor the movements of individuals and groups attempting to cross a border without the correct documentation. 

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Smuggling & trafficking control

RF monitoring technologies help identify and intercept attempts to smuggle contraband, narcotics, weapons, and human trafficking across borders. 

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Border intrusion detection

Intrusion detection systems identify any attempts to breach border security infrastructure, such as fences, barriers, or walls. 

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Unauthorized border crossing detection

Monitoring systems detect and alert authorities to individuals or vehicles attempting to cross both land and maritime borders without proper authorization. 

Talk to an advisor about border security monitoring

Border security monitoring expertise

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Spectrum monitoring & geolocation systems

An overview of contemporary radio spectrum monitoring practice and the sensor and geolocation technologies required to meet emerging challenges.

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Angle of arrival / direction finding techniques

How does AoA work? How can it be applied in practice? And how can it be combined with other geolocation techniques such as time difference of arrival (TDoA)?

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Principles of geolocation techniques
This white paper describes the underlying principles of geolocation techniques (AoA, TDoA, FDoA, & PoA) and outlines their applications.
DETECTION & 3D GEOLOCATION OF AERIAL TARGETS OVER WIDE AREAS
REAL-TIME DIRECTION FINDING  & FULL SPECTRUM AWARENESS
MoD BORDER SURVEILLANCE IN THE MIDDLE EAST
DEPLOYMENT STORIES
DETECTION & 3D GEOLOCATION OF AERIAL TARGETS OVER WIDE AREAS

How a NATO partner built an air defense platform to increase national security 

Read the story
DEPLOYMENT STORIES
REAL-TIME DIRECTION FINDING & FULL SPECTRUM AWARENESS

How a Southeast Asian government intelligence service secured multiple borders.

Read the story
DEPLOYMENT STORIES
MoD BORDER SURVEILLANCE IN THE MIDDLE EAST

How a government agency secured its borders in a volatile region.

Read the story

Related reading

Can RF monitoring protect commercial shipping against counter-targeting threats?
Can RF monitoring protect commercial shipping against counter-targeting threats?
by Babak Taghvaee
Recent threats to commercial shipping in the Red Sea demonstrate the need for enhanced counter-targeting procedures for commercial vessels. With installed spectrum monitoring ...
RF border surveillance: a key line of defense for border security
RF border surveillance: a key line of defense for border security
by Zac George
With terrorism, human trafficking, and illegal immigration on the rise, border agencies are consistently addressing new challenges. They must find the right balance between ...
Geolocation techniques for RF border surveillance in remote areas
Geolocation techniques for RF border surveillance in remote areas
by CRFS Marketing
International borders are prime targets for criminal activity, with weapons, drugs, and even humans being smuggled between countries by land, sea, and air. Border protection ...