CRFS helped develop a border surveillance solution for the Ministry of Defense (MoD) of an undisclosed country in the Middle East enabling the government agency to secure its borders in a volatile region. Frequent upheavals on an international, regional, and political level make borders in the Middle East highly contentious. The many threat vectors—both sophisticated and crude—put governments on a constant high state of alert.
Advanced spectrum monitoring systems that provide actionable RF intelligence and enable multi-mission, multidomain deployments are vitally important. Knowing who is exploiting the EMS (voice, data, sensors including radar), what they are transmitting, and where they are located are extremely valuable data points — coupled with advanced and integrated border sensors and intelligence systems.
This MoD in the Middle East wanted to add electronic surveillance across long, remote, and inhospitable border regions to combat a wide range of threat vectors (civilian groups, organized insurgents, and foreign military sources). It required a high-performance, rugged, and remotely controlled solution to fulfill multi-user, multi-mission requirements and improve workflows.
Solution: Smart & Integrated Border Monitoring
The MoD chose an RF hardware and software ecosystem capable of delivering enhanced RF intelligence derived from spectrum data, 24/7/365 automated monitoring, and EW mission management.
It first installed a series of RFeye Nodes in Outdoor System Kits, deployed in strategic positions along the border, and remotely monitored and accessed them. These assets were designed to deliver exceptional RF performance, operating continually in extremely harsh conditions with high reliability and no need for recalibration.
In the frequency domain, the MoD wished to monitor and manage a wide range with incredible resolution to ensure no signal was missed. They wanted to capture signals in high fidelity (requiring I/Q data) to drive their classification and demodulation capability. Thanks to the industry-leading sensitivity, they can capture signals from an enhanced coverage range and measure signals very close to the noise floor.
The MoD also chose to extend its capabilities with several RFeye Stormcases and vehicle-mounted RFeye Array systems— products designed for tactical and mobile deployments for agile spectrum monitoring and ISR. This provided the flexibility the MoD required for intelligence units to combine tactical and fixed assets seamlessly.
Every system required 18 GHz full-width frequency capability, meaning it needed to be able to monitor everything from hand-held communications to vehicle and airborne emitters. The equipment also needed to identify radar systems and rapidly geolocate jamming sources.
Dominating EW operations – detect, capture, & geolocate
The MoD’s overarching goal was to increase its signal intelligence from spectrum data by understanding the when, what, who, and where. It wanted to know when a signal went on air, what that signal was (by classifying it), who sent the signal (by capturing, demodulating, and decrypting it), and where it was (by geolocating it). By detecting, capturing, and geolocating using the CRFS RFeye ecosystem, the MOD wanted to achieve full EW operations.
Equipment used:
Results: Ten Years of Multi-Mission Deployments & EW Support
The MoD has carried out multi-mission deployments in a turbulent region for over a decade and is content with the quality of spectrum intelligence it can gather. Although no one knows when a threat may appear, the fixed and remote receivers’ capabilities offer 24/7/365 ISR and security.
The MoD is now:
- Detecting and reacting to different threat vectors in real-time
- Managing the spectrum
- Ensuring spectrum cleanliness for its own operations
- Working closely with regulators to ensure civilian applications remain uncompromised
A key system feature – automation
The MoD selected RFeye Mission Manager—a toolset for automated spectrum management and operators who lack people or sensors (or both) and need to perform 24/7/365 monitoring. It provides clear views of the RF environment with visualizations of authorized transmitters, operating zones, geofencing, incidents, and alarms in near-time.
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