Estonia to develop autonomous vessel to patrol waterways along Russia border
Estonia's Police and Border Guard Board (PPA) is moving forward with plans to develop an autonomous robotic vessel which would patrol Estonia's eastern border, Baltic Sentinel reported.
Much of Estonia's border with Russia follows watercourses, including the Narva River and Peipsi Järv.
The robot vessel could be operational within two years and while it would be equipped with surveillance systems, there is scope both for the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and for the vessel to be armed.
The project is being funded with over €1 million in EU support and is part of a broader innovation initiative backed by Estonia's Ministry of Finance.
The PPA says it plans to launch a public procurement "in the near future" for both design and build phases, with Tallinn Technical University (TalTech)-founded tech startup MindChip, which has experience in building autonomous vessels, reportedly one of the potential bidders.
In May last year, Russian authorities removed several Estonian marker buoys from the Narva River, and refused to return them.
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