Beyond the Fences: Building Smart & Aware Borders

Border protection is no longer defined only by fences, towers, or patrol routes. It is defined also by information - by the ability to see, understand, and respond faster than ever. Across the world, defense forces face the same challenge: securing vast and complex frontiers with fewer soldiers and far more data.

At Elbit Systems, this challenge has become a fully digital concept - one that links every sensor, operator, and decision-maker into a single operational network.

Turning Borders into Digital Ecosystems

At the center of Elbit’s approach is the Border Protection Suite - a modular ecosystem of interoperable solutions that combine C4I, communications, AI, and autonomous platforms into a single, cohesive system. Each deployment is customized to the customer’s operational environment, whether along a desert frontier, coastal boundary, or rugged mountain range. 

“There are no universal instructions for border defense” says Izhar, Head of Business Development for Network-Centric Warfare at Elbit Systems. “Every country has its own geography, security concerns & constraints. Our job is to enable the forces to optimize their assets and gain full control of their borders: connecting what they already have - Sensors, Communications, and Command and adding missing elements – thus, creating one unified system that provides an optimized suite that fits the customer providing a coherent situational picture and operational capabilities". 

A Connected Command Network

At the core of that vision is Torch-X, Elbit’s fifth-generation C4I suite. The Torch-X Borders is purpose-built for border defense missions, providing continuous situational awareness and instant coordination between sensors, patrols, and command posts. The system fuses data from all sensors - such as electro-optical cameras, radars, acoustic, SIGINT and ELINT sensors, and autonomous aerial and ground vehicles into a unified operational picture that spans land, sea, and air.

But data fusion is only as strong as the network that carries it. To make that possible, Elbit developed a resilient digital backbone including - Elbits' E-LynX family of Software Defined Radios and waveforms providing secure, adaptive MANET radio communication networks; Tiger-X that creates a resilient mesh network from any communication medium & IRCS (Integrated Radio Communication System) that handles voice & data conferencing and interoperability between legacy and new radios. Together, they create a self-healing, immune, encrypted network built for harsh RF spectrum, low-bandwidth environments where connectivity is mission-critical.

AI That Plans, Learns, and Acts

Building upon its advanced communications architecture, Elbit is introducing a transformative operational paradigm driven by Artificial Intelligence. At the core of this evolution are Dominion-X, Elbit’s distributed framework for autonomous systems, and the AI Array platform - together defining what the company terms the Agentic Operation Age. This marks a fundamental shift from traditional human-centric monitoring to AI-augmented command.
Dominion-X orchestrates fleets of autonomous drones, UAVs, and UGVs, while the AI Array delivers real-time data fusion, decision support, and mission planning. These capabilities enable a cognitive, situationally aware Generative AI Reasoner that tracks events, interprets context, correlates historical data, and provides actionable decision support. The result is a highly automated system that significantly reduces operator workload while enhancing decision quality and operational precision

“We’re entering the fifth generation of command and control; AI performs thousands of routine actions - from identifying anomalies to recommending responses. These capabilities rethink the traditional decision loop'” Izhar says. Instead of manually interpreting data from dozens of sources, commanders receive actionable insights - recommended actions, risk assessments, and prioritization - all generated within seconds. The result is a faster, leaner, and more precise operational response.

Integration Born from Field Experience

For Elbit, integrating hardware, software, and doctrine is not just a technical challenge - it is a cultural one. Each system is shaped with input from veterans and field experts who understand the realities of border protection, combat, & operational life. 
“We call it Warriors for Warriors,” Izhar says. “The people building these systems know what it means to depend on them under pressure. That is the difference between something that works in theory and something that helps to save lives in the field.”
That ethos has guided more than two decades of Elbit’s work in defense digitization. The Border Protection Suite embodies a full lifecycle approach - from operational surveys and system design to installation, training, and sustainment - striving to ensure every project evolves into a living digital ecosystem rather than static deployment.
 

The Network as the New Frontier

In the past, defending a border meant physically blocking movement. Today, it means enabling awareness - knowing what moves, where, when, and why: responding before a threat becomes an incident. Elbit’s border defense architecture embodies that shift: modular, scalable, and deeply intelligent.

As Izhar puts it, “The future of border protection is not about higher fences - it is about smarter systems that connect everything. Awareness, decision, and action now happen in one continuous flow.”