Saudi Arabia inaugurates Iraq border security system

A project to secure Saudi Arabia’s northern border with Iraq has culminated in the inauguration of a border security system supplied by an Airbus Defence and Space (D&S)-led team.

The Northern Border Security (NBS) Project is the first part of the Saudi Border Guard Development Programme which aims to secure the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s borders with advanced border surveillance security systems.

The NBS is a fully-integrated technological security-solution encompassing 900kms of the border with Iraq. It consists of one sand berm, three fences, seven Command & Control (C2) Centres, 32 Response Stations, 240 Response Vehicles and ten Surveillance Reconnaissance Vehicles.

Security is enforced through 40 surveillance towers, equipped with Airbus DS TRGS-SEC radars and day/night cameras, and 38 communication towers, all of which are connected to the C2 centres, the National HQ and the Ministry of Interior over 1.45 million km of fibre-optic cables. These assets, combined, provide advanced operational awareness and means to mitigate and monitor threats of all natures.

Dietmar Pilz, project director, said: ‘I am proud to be responsible of this final stage of the project and to see all our years of hard work and technical know-how finally culminating in this inauguration of our state-of-the art border security system. I would like to thank everyone who has been involved throughout the project.’

A ceremony to inaugurate the system earlier in September was attended by the Minister of Interior Prince Mohammed bin Naif, members of the royal family, various delegates, and also King Hamad ibn Isa al Khalifa of the Kingdom of Bahrain.