Under the agreement, which was signed at the end of March, new equipment will be installed by 2020. New night vision devices are to be installed on existing border observation towers and new seismic sensors will be supplied. The existing computer and communications equipment will also be upgraded.

FIMA installed the existing surveillance and control system at Vileikiai during the summer of 2013. According to data provided by the Lithuanian Interior Ministry, the 2013 project met the border service’s expectations. For example, between 2013 and 2014, 11 attempts to cross the border illegally were detected. Following the installation of the equipment, the number of illegal crossings began to fall and not a single one was recorded in 2017.

As part of the 2013 project, FIMA built border observation towers with day and night vision equipment on a 27-km long stretch of the border as well as installing seismic sensors and a special radio locator. It also installed tailor-made system management and control software as well as a surveillance centre. Prior to 2013, physical patrols were needed to monitor the border at Vileikiai.