CRFS explores how Radio Frequency (RF) technology could augment existing systems on Spain’s southern maritime border by acting as an early warning system, detecting and geolocating suspected criminal activity, and feeding RF intelligence into Command and Control (C2) systems in real time. Read more >>
The Guardia Civil, Spain’s agency responsible for border control, faces challenges in the 53,000-square-kilometer area east of the Gibraltar Straits separating Spain from North Africa. Since 2002, the agency has relied on the Integrated System of External Vigilance (Sistema Integrado de Vigilancia Exterior), which includes radar, infrared, and video, to combat illegal immigration, drug trafficking, and other illicit activities.
However, threats crossing the Alboran Sea have evolved over the past twenty years, with challenges now present on the surface, in the air, and underwater, including smaller and faster vessels, aerial drones, and Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (UUVs).
RF sensors constantly monitor the electromagnetic spectrum and can detect radio waves emitted by a transmitter at a given frequency, such as a Private Mobile Radio (PMR) operating in the VHF band between 136–174 MHz. Unmanned systems are also likely to house several transmitters that emit radio waves, most likely from telemetry transmitters sending real-time flight data to a ground station or operator. Software can geolocate detected signals, while adding spectrum monitoring capability can provide improved situational awareness. For example, detecting a PMR signal without an automatic identification system (AIS) in the same location could indicate that a vessel operator is trying to remain undetected.
CRFS also examines several potential deployment approaches, including Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) equipped with RF sensors, fixed RF sensor networks along the Spanish and Moroccan coastlines, and RF sensors carried on maritime patrol vessels or Unmanned Surface Vessels (USVs). Across these deployment options, RF technology can provide C2 with a tool to locate maritime targets beyond the horizon, providing additional Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities.
Read ‘Using RF technology to combat security challenges on Spain’s southern maritime border’ for more information.
