The South African defence industry (SADI), through companies such as DCD Protected Mobility, Aselsan South Africa, and Unipro Protective Wear, will this week be taking part in a groundbreaking capability demonstration to assist the Border Management Authority (BMA) as it gears up for a bumper festive season.
The companies will be deploying an integrated suite of advanced surveillance, mobility and protective technologies at the Beitbridge and Lebombo border crossings. This was revealed by BMA Commissioner Dr Michael Masiapato, who briefed the media on its festive season plan in Pretoria on Sunday.
The initiative at two of South Africa’s highest-volume land ports forms part of a structured pilot project aimed at enhancing visibility, accountability, and situational awareness during one of the busiest travel seasons of the year, the SADI companies said.
DCD Protected Mobility will be providing three vehicles for border patrol operations namely two Springbuck Standard Duty (SD) Personnel Carriers SD for patrol and one Sherp All-terrain Vehicle – designed for operations in challenging terrain. The Springbuck vehicles are available in different variants such as Command & Control, Ambulance and Weapon Platform configurations. DCD vehicles have been delivered to 26 countries across five continents.
Unipro Protective Wear, in collaboration with Aselsan South Africa, will support the Border Management Authority through the deployment of state-of-the-art body-worn camera systems at selected ports of entry. Beyond traditional video and audio capture, the body camera system is designed to support advanced analytical functions — including facial recognition and number-plate recognition — implemented strictly in accordance with South Africa’s laws, cyber policies, and operational mandates. Body-worn cameras will be mounted on Unipro’s bullet-resistant vests, worn by BMA patrol officers and members operating DCD patrol vehicles and static border control points.
Throughout the pilot period, the system will ensure secure data transfer, streamlined monitoring, and improved decision support for frontline and supervisory teams. To safeguard data, all information flows will be protected through active cyber-defence technologies, and the companies will have aerial range extension for improved communications, all delivered by collaboration partners Snode Technologies, A2D Geoscan, and Battlecopter — all members of the Aerospace, Maritime & Defence (AMD) Industries Association of South Africa. Snode will supply cyber security technology while A2D Geoscan will provide a vertical takeoff and landing unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), and Battlecopter a VTOL UAV with optics.
“This collaboration represents a growing model of South African–global technology partnership, combining a world-class international camera OEM with high-quality locally manufactured protective vests. These capabilities will strengthen real-time situational reporting, improve incident documentation and enable higher levels of operational transparency across the border environment,” the companies said.
This collaborative effort between DCD, Unipro, Aselsan, Snode, A2D Geoscan and Battlecopter demonstrates the emerging strength of South Africa’s security and defence industrial partnerships. It highlights the BMA’s commitment to adopting modern tools that enhance safety, efficiency, and law enforcement excellence at the country’s borders.
The pilot is expected to serve as a foundation for broader integration of innovative technologies across the national border management system, reinforcing the BMA’s mandate as South Africa’s third national armed law enforcement service responsible for immigration control, port health, biosecurity, access control, risk management, and the safe movement of people and goods across all ports of entry.
BMA expecting a bumper festive season
In his briefing on Sunday, Masiapato said South Africa is facing one of its busiest travel periods in recent years, with traveller movements increasing sharply and enforcement operations yielding thousands of interceptions.
“Historically, the December and January festive periods remain characterized by a significant increase in traveller volume which always places significant pressure on our ports of entry. In fact, South Africa continues to confront a range of complex border-related challenges, including illegal migration, increasingly sophisticated cross-border criminal activities, as well as the smuggling of illicit goods. These challenges place a significant strain on our already limited resources, hinder economic growth, and undermine efforts toward deeper regional economic integration. It is against this backdrop that the BMA continues to engage our neighbouring states to ensure the development of robust, integrated, and well-resourced border management system that is free from criminal interference,” Masiapato said.
“The festive period always positions us to anticipate risks, improve processing times, refine command and control, and elevate our responsiveness to the high-volume and complex border management environment. At this time, our strategy places deliberate emphasis on enhanced capacity, improved queue management, strengthened traffic control, and inter-structural collaboration.”
The BMA’s Festive Season Operational Plan will be executed from 10 December and end on 15 January. Particularly from January, the BMA will intensify measures to detect and seize narcotics, illicit goods, and even stolen vehicles. “We therefore want to warn all travellers to desist from committing any act of criminality around the ports or even in the border law enforcement areas as they will be detected and arrested,” Masiapato cautioned.
He noted that Border Guards have been able to stop about 505 065 individuals from entering South Africa illegally since the deployment of the first contingent in July 2022, intercepted 349 vehicles, and seized R220 million worth of counterfeit clothing and footwear, amongst other successes.
Masiapato also announced a key operational development. The BMA, in partnership with Transnet National Ports Authority, has secured permanent operational space for Coastal Guards at the ports of Mossel Bay, Gqeberha, Richards Bay and East London. “This is a critical development towards establishing BMA’s full-time presence in these important seaports,” he said.
