As 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 members 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’s goal is to enhance security within European borders by establishing a combined marine cross-border surveillance system. The model will combine different sensing technological approaches like drones, fixed buoys, and (SMART) submarine cables in monitoring and detecting diverse threats for instance illegal migratory movements, drug trafficking, illegal fishing, and terrorist attacks. The undertaking will give live data and situational knowledge to boundary agents and authorities for cross-border threats, thus increasing their ability to recognize and respond to dangers from air, ground, or water.

Whitesteps was the initiator of the idea, is the leader on work packages concerning the Exploitation and Dissemination of the project and one of the main designers of the architecture of the final OEM agnostic system.