The final stage of a program to help secure Saudi Arabia's border with Iraq has been officially inaugurated.

Airbus Defense and Space, working with its civil works partner, was the principle contractor for the Northern Border Project that covers about 559 miles of frontier.

"I am proud to be responsible of this final stage of the project and to see all our years of hard work and technical know-how finally culminating in this inauguration of our state-of-the art border security system," said Project Director Dietmar Pilz.

The Northern Border Project, part of the Saudi Border Guard Development Program, consists of one sand berm, three fences, seven command-and-control centers, and 32 response stations.

About 240 response vehicles and 10 surveillance and reconnaissance vehicles are also being used, Airbus said.

Surveillance towers -- 40 in all -- equipped with Airbus DS TRGS-SEC radars and day/night cameras; and 38 communication towers are connected to the command-and-control centers and the Ministry of Interior through fiber-optic cable.

"These assets, combined, provide superior operational awareness and means to mitigate and monitor threats of all nature," Airbus Defense and Space said.