Finnland: Border Guard upgrading surveillance technology on land border

The Finnish Border Guard is looking at options for new technology for the supervision of Finland’s land borders. The aim is to upgrade sensor technology and data systems by the end of 2013.
Brigadier General Mikko Kirjavainen of the general staff of the Border Guard says that obsolete technology needs to be replaced. Monitoring equipment will be upgraded, and more technology will be used to replace of human work.

“We perceive no new threats as such, although there have been some phenomena in recent years”, Kirjavainen said, in reference to the illegal crossings of Afghan citizens from Russia into the southeast of Finland. “They took advantage of the land border. After that, more sensor lines were placed [on the border] in the Imatra area.”

The focus of electronic supervision is in the southwest of Finland. The Border Guard has had to move personnel from the north to the south, which has increased the need for electronic surveillance in the north.
“We need to increase the use of technology in the north. We do this with the help of mobile equipment”, Kirjavainen says.

Electronic monitoring of the Russian border began in the early 1990s. Before that, there were only a few individual tripwire devices linked with movie cameras.
Electronic surveillance involves detection of movement, and is largely based on seismic, acoustic, inductive sensors, and infrared sensors.
Seismic sensors detect vibration in the ground, and they can distinguish between people and vehicles.

Inductive sensors detect metal in an object that is moving, while an infrared sensor can detect human body heat from a distance of up to 100 metres.
“We have all kinds of conventional sensor technologies, because each one has its advantages and drawbacks”, says systems chief Harri Ahonen.

The Border Guard has also considered using unmanned helicopters and fixed-wing drones for border surveillance.
“We are talking about miniature devices which weigh less than 20 kilos. The use of heavier devices is not possible because of aviation regulations.
Ahonen says that the Border Guard is yearning for more developed devices designed for military use. However, he notes that many of them are unnecessarily expensive and complicated. “And our conditions do not resemble the battlefield.”

Last year the border guard tested land surveillance radar on two occasions. They proved to be o flimited use.
“We do not have much use for radar that can spot a moving person ten kilometres away, considering that average visibility in a Finnish forest is 200 metres.”
Ahonen points out that surveillance electronics combined with border dogs are a very good combination.

Source: http://www.hs.fi/english/article/Border+Guard+upgrading+surveillance+technology+on+land+border/1135265312223