|
|
A state-of-the-art border security system for the National Security Shield (NSS) is now up and running in Qatar, European firm Airbus Defence & Space announced at the Doha International Maritime Defence Exhibition & Conference (Dimdex 2014).
Airbus Defence & Space senior vice president, head of Europe, Middle East and Africa Jean-Marc Nasr said the company had finalised the deployment of the advanced security system to the Qatar Ministry of Interior and Armed Forces.
“I am pleased to say that in this country we have put in operation the most advanced border surveillance system ever developed in the world for maritime and terrestrial areas,” Nasr said during a presentation delivered at the Qatar National Convention Centre (QNCC), the venue for this year’s Dimdex.
Nasr, who described the security programme as “the most evolved solution worldwide,” said the system is composed of surveillance towers and surveillance vehicles equipped with different sensors such as radars, cameras and direction finders that are distributed throughout Qatar.
“Our company has developed a unique capability of putting that together in an integrated manner to provide a level of efficiency and reliability that is expected by very demanding border guards and that’s the beauty of what we are doing,” Nasr told Gulf Times.
He said the Qatar Border Guards and Coast Guards are now capable of monitoring land sectors, coastal border sectors, offshore sites, and 600km of Qatari borders that are prone to security threats like human trafficking, illegal migration, terrorist attacks, piracy, illegal fishing, and smuggling.
Aside from border and coast guards, the surveillance system can also be utilised by other military sectors like the navy, air force, land force, and even government agencies, Nasr said.
“All sensor data and images,” according to Nasr, “can be accessed from any of Qatar’s operational sites.”
He also stressed that the border security systems are operational “24 times 7” and can be used “in all kinds of weather conditions and in all kinds of situations.”
Nasr emphasised that the offshore towers and platforms that will be installed and equipped with the NSS will also cover Qatar’s exclusive economic zone, thus providing added protection to the country’s oil and gas production sites.
He added that in the next two years, additional functionalities such as a training simulation system, documentation management, a web portal for external agencies, and an enhanced user management will be delivered to further enhance the system.
Nasr explained that the construction of the Alternative Joint Operational Centre is still being finalised. “It will be integrated and able to take over all operations at any time. The air force, the Land Force Headquarters, and the National Crisis Centre will be connected to the system in the coming months,” he said.
