Border police in Romania have inaugurated the central command and control centre for a new border security system from Cassidian. 

Begun under a contract awarded in 2004 and extended in 2009 to cover the complete Schengen external border, the Romanian Border Security scheme protects the longest land border in Europe against illegal immigrants, smuggling, trafficking and terrorism, while providing increased national security for Romanian citizens.

The project includes a TETRA network, surveillance enhanced recognition and identification capabilities, operational applications for command and control with automatic vehicle location, threat analysis at border crossings and e-learning for border guards, all functioning over a highly reliable national data and voice communication system.

The command and control centre is a building of 18 000 square metres which will also host the system data centre and the national operational dispatch centre.

Besides supplying a complex TETRA network for nine external border counties, Cassidian has installed fixed cameras and radars at many ‘hot’ locations along the border, integrated with local command centres.