Project results are expected to contribute to some or all of the following expected outcomes:

• Improved detection, localization, characterization and, when applicable, neutralisation, of unmanned vehicles alone or in swarms, involved in trafficking or smuggling activities across external borders, while complying with legal and ethical guidelines;
• Improved border situational awareness, especially in the context of large-scale movements of people across borders, including from potential instrumentalisation of irregular migration, conflicts, social, economic, environmental and climate stress;
• Better safeguard and promotion of fundamental rights thanks to enhanced situational awareness;
• Reliable, redundant detection and reaction capacities without putting staff and society at risk.

Scope:

Capabilities for situational awareness and surveillance of land and sea borders need improvement, in consideration of potential future challenges that may require updated capabilities. These challenges may include potential future large-scale movements of people across external borders, resulting from future attempts to instrumentalisation of irregular migration, but also from conflicts, social, economic, environmental and climate stress in the European neighbourhood; as well as increasing availability and capability of unmanned aerial, surface, and underwater vehicles with increased payload capacity and range that make it easier to transport goods and, possibly, persons, including in connection will illicit or illegal activities such as trafficking of goods and smuggling of people across external EU borders. These challenges will be particularly relevant in regions close to the European neighbourhood.

This may be particularly relevant for unsupervised and difficult-to-control land and sea borders of the Union and the Schengen area.

Research funded under this topic should develop solutions that, through better awareness, improve efficiency and reaction time of detection, search, rescue, and recovery operations near land and sea borders, in diverse geographical and meteorological conditions, taking into account the different and diverse needs. Research funded under this topic can also promote cross-border cooperation at European regional level around innovative border management solutions demonstration testbeds.

Actions funded under this topic should develop solutions that go beyond state-of-the-art in clearly demonstrable ways, including measurable improvements in detection range, accuracy, response time, automation, and system resilience.

Improved border surveillance and situational awareness must better safeguard and promote fundamental rights and EU values, with a particular regard to human rights, using an inclusive approach that addresses diverse needs. Solutions should also provide reliable and redundant capacities, while ensuring the safety of staff, users, and persons who may be victim of illicit activities across external borders.

The EBCG Capability Roadmap recognises that future capabilities that help detect cross-border irregularities and cases requiring Search and Rescue activities are essential. Solutions should be modular and scalable to cater to the regional and challenges specificities.

Compatibility and integration with the European Border Surveillance System (EUROSUR) is essential, and compatibility and/or exploitation of other European information-sharing environments, like the Common Information Sharing Environment (CISE), would be an additional asset.

Proposals should demonstrate that the proposed equipment and technologies contribute to cost reduction and energy efficiency of border surveillance and situational awareness operations.

Proposals submitted under this topic are expected to address the priorities of the European Border and Coast Guard (ECBG) and of its Agency (Frontex). This should start from the definition of requirements and the design phase, including alignment with the EBCG Capability Roadmap and on the engagement with the Agency during the project implementation. At the proposal preparation stage, Frontex will not provide guidance on or otherwise be involved in the preparation of project proposals. However, proposals should consider and anticipate that Frontex may observe pilots and demonstrations during project implementation to facilitate the future uptake of innovations within the border and coast guard community.

To ensure active involvement and timely feedback from relevant security practitioners, proposals should include a mid-term deliverable consisting of an assessment of the project’s mid-term outcomes, conducted by the practitioners involved in the project.