Protecting the Middle East from Air, Land and Water Threats

A multi-security program is being tested to protect 9 infrastructure locations across countries in the Middle East.

The $50 million multi-site program has completed a second Site Acceptance Test (SAT), achieving a major milestone for key defense, safety and surveillance solutions. The program will be networked from a centralized national command center.

The security systems will use a proprietary hybrid intelligence system called NiDar. This Joint Area Command and Control Solution will utilize systems installed by MARSS. This system integrates a range of sensors and effectors that will protect the locations from manned and unmanned threats such as an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), unmanned surface vehicle (USV), and unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV).

Using artificial intelligence (AI) along with algorithmic techniques and human driven domain expertise, a single user interface is being created to protect against air, surface, and underwater threats.

Radar, sonar systems, and cameras will provide short-to-medium-range protection across the 9 locations with a single tactical surveillance picture.

The system was able to successfully detect and track air and surface threats in the second test using artificial intelligence-based classification in the form of radar cross sections as well as provide threat defeat countermeasures. Using AI, the decision cycle in response to potential threats was greatly reduced at even greater ranges and also decreased false alarm rates with better performance.

In the United States, a sophisticated radar system is used for air, land, and marine surveillance to protect its American citizens from infrastructure invasion. The program’s purpose is to prevent terrorism as well as the illegal movement of illicit drugs, contraband, and people. The system also uses information from aircraft and airport data provided by the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) and responds to requests from law enforcement about particular suspects as well as information tips from the general public. All of this may include recordings of operations and event data. In this particular case, a Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) decision tool is utilized to identify and mitigate privacy risks by notifying the public what information is being collecting, why it is being collected, and how the information will be used, accessed, shared, safeguarded, and stored.

The Middle East countries include Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Yemen