Estonia activates drone surveillance system on Narva River

Estonia has activated a new drone surveillance system on the Narva River, allowing border guards to monitor aircraft movements along roughly one third of the river border, ERR reported. The entire river border is expected to be covered next year.

Five radar masts were erected on the Narva River in the spring and have now been equipped with surveillance systems. For the first time, border guards can track drones near the border, including civilian and military drones. Russian reconnaissance aircraft flying along the border also appear on the radar screen.

“These systems are now operational. We can see drones, not only small civilian drones, but in principle a military drone appearing near our border would also show up on the radar screen. This is a significant advance,” Interior Minister Igor Taro said.

Border guards said several years ago that they could observe activity on about 70 percent of the Narva River. The new radar systems are expected to eliminate the remaining blind spots by next year.

“We have state-of-the-art radar systems that, in addition to traditional monitoring of the air picture, can now also track different types of drone traffic. Better eyes and better systems give us a better picture for responding,” said Veiko Kommusaar, deputy director general of the Police and Border Guard Board.

The system currently allows the border authorities to monitor drones, but not counter them. The next step will be to develop drone countermeasures for the eastern border and inland areas.

According to Taro, a procurement process for an experimental counter-drone station is nearing completion. The station will test different countermeasures, and successful solutions could later be installed elsewhere in Estonia.

Radar coverage currently extends from Narva to Narva-Jõesuu. Construction is still under way on systems covering the Narva River toward Lake Peipus, and they are scheduled to become operational next year.