Strenghtening the Eastern Border

LVRTC is implementing the construction of a technological infrastructure for border protection along more than 450 km of the country’s eastern border. The set of technological solutions will ensure border surveillance with the help of various sensors, as well as video surveillance and data analytics.

The technological solution developed by LVRTC is an extension of the physical border – the fence that has already been built. The physical infrastructure creates a physical barrier that border violators must overcome, while the technological infrastructure will allow for the timely identification of violators and decide on a preventive response.

“The current geopolitical situation and rapid development of the technological environment require institutions and organizations,  and especially those that have been working in emergency conditions on the eastern border for several years, to strengthen their digital capacity—secure and sustainable technological solutions to work smarter, replace “manual labor” and supplement the functions entrusted to human senses, expanding vision, sharpening senses, and increasing the ability to be alert and observe, perceive, identify, and quickly analyze with modern artificial intelligence solutions. Undeniably, the technological solution developed is the most extensive set of innovations, as well as the most extensive application of artificial intelligence in Latvia at present,” emphasizes Ģirts Ozols, Chairman of the Board of LVRTC.

All contracts for equipping the Latvian-Russian and Latvian-Belarusian borders have now been signed. In September, all construction-related documentation will be completed, and work will begin on installing the technological infrastructure along the entire length of the border.

The construction of the technology is underway over several hundred kilometers, and in some sections, the pace of construction is ahead of schedule.

One section has been partially completed, and border guard colleagues have now begun testing the solution, which is essential in order to adapt the technological platform, analytics, visibility, and usability to user needs in the other sections.

“It should be emphasized that the technological solution is like a single organism, which will only be able to function fully once all elements have been completed. To use an analogy, oxygen is present in the lungs, the bloodstream, and the brain. For the organism to function properly, it is not enough for oxygen to be present only in the lungs,” notes Ozols.

The construction of the technological solution as a whole continues to be affected by this year’s challenging weather conditions.

“We are aware that the elements that have already been built may be damaged, and unfortunately we have to admit that this is a reality that must be taken into account. On the other side of the border is a highly motivated enemy with various objectives – illegal border crossing, sabotage, and vandalism. This confirms that the enemy also understands that the newly built technologies will allow for more modern border protection and enable us to fight not with the consequences, but preventively and in a timely manner by detecting threats, whatever they may be,” notes Ģ.Ozols.

What is automated border infrastructure?

The technological solution involves the creation of a complex and sophisticated information and communications infrastructure consisting of fiber optic cable network infrastructure (including electronic communications network cable ducts), power supply network infrastructure, video surveillance pole infrastructure, data transmission network infrastructure, perimeter surveillance technology infrastructure (e.g., video surveillance), and other related infrastructure, as well as software capable of correlating sensor data, thus ensuring the ability to respond in real time to threats such as hybrid warfare, organized crime, illegal migration, and other threats in accordance with regulatory acts in the field of national security and border protection, and is an integral part of the infrastructure necessary for the protection of external land borders.

The construction of technological infrastructure is necessary to ensure and increase control and response capabilities in border areas, strengthen the overall capacity for crime prevention, detection and investigation, and improve the safety and quality of life of the region’s inhabitants.

The project is co-financed by the European Union. We are implementing it in cooperation with the State Border Guard.

Project No. VRS/RPVP/2023/3