EYES IN THE SKY

Roaming UAVs ease airborne border and coastal surveillance

- JR Ng

Enduring territorial disputes, illegal immigration, transnational crime, and domestic and international terrorism in Asia-Pacific continue to drive regional interest in the protection of long and often porous land and maritime boundaries.

While the imperative to monitor national borders is well understood, the reality on the ground for most regional governments is that it is practically impossible to entirely secure the vast land and coastal stretches that separates them from each other.

The size of these boundaries for the largest countries can be staggering. India has over 15,106km (9,386 miles) of shared land borders with seven other countries – with at least three being actively disputed – and 7,516km (4,670 miles) of coastline (including island territories), while Thailand in mainland Southeast Asia has over 4,800km (3,000 miles) of land boundaries with four other countries and over 3,200km (2,000 miles) of coastline.

The traditional approach to border surveillance includes monitoring by fixed cameras, ground sensors, security and patrol vehicles, and manned aircraft. However, there is a growing interest to field unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to boost situational awareness for deployed personnel and vehicles suspicious activity along treacherous terrain and to get a closer look at areas that may be inefficient or unsafe for patrol.

Moreover, larger and more capable UAVs configured specifically for long-endurance missions are increasingly being seen as potential surrogates for costly and resource-intensive manned aircraft or troop deployments. Analysts note that UAVs typically have the advantage over their manned counterparts in these areas: time on station; cost per flight hour; lower risk to human life; and manned-unmanned teaming efficiencies.