Nortech — People & Vehicle Access Solutions
Grey 4x4 driving through the raised barrier at a secure estate gate, with a lowered road blocker in the lane, a Transit Ultimate long-range reader and a camera on the post, a guardroom and weldmesh perimeter fencing

Vehicle access control for defence and high-security estates

Multi-layer perimeter. Strict accreditation. Zero failure tolerance.

Talk to an engineer Which reader for which vehicle

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Vehicle access control for a defence or high-security estate has to combine more than one credential, record every event and keep working under operational stress. Nedap Transit Ultimate identifies each authorised vehicle from up to 15 metres, Transit Booster tags add the driver's own credential to the same read where the gate asks for both, and ANPR Lumo verifies every number plate in parallel.

We distribute and support all of it as Nedap's certified UK partner, and our UK engineering team understands the procurement, compliance and operational requirements of defence and government estates work.

Commercial access control is not enough here

Defence and high-security estates operate to standards where conventional commercial access control is not appropriate. Vehicle access has to combine more than one credential, every event has to be auditable, and the whole system has to keep working in adverse conditions and under operational stress.

A gate that relies on a guard reading a pass through a window is slow at shift change and leaves the record to the guard. A gate that trusts a single tag cannot tell who is driving.

Nedap technology is deployed at military bases, government estates and national security sites in several countries, and the same readers are available here through Nortech.

  • The challenge

    One credential is not enough

    A vehicle tag alone proves the vehicle is authorised. It says nothing about who is behind the wheel.

    The answer

    Vehicle and driver in one read

    Transit Ultimate with Transit Booster tags reads the vehicle's ID and the driver's own access card in one transaction, and the access control system can ask for a further step at the gate where the policy requires it.

  • The challenge

    Every vehicle has to be verified

    Visitors and contractors carry no tag, and even a tagged vehicle should be checked against more than one list.

    The answer

    Plates cross-referenced in parallel

    ANPR Lumo reads every number plate from 2 to 10 metres and the security platform cross-references it against the estate's authoritative sources, alongside the tag read.

  • The challenge

    Every event has to be auditable

    A record kept by the guard on the gate is only as complete as the shift was quiet.

    The answer

    Timestamped in the security operations platform

    Each identification event and the credentials presented are timestamped and recorded in the connected security operations platform, through open protocols, so the estate holds the record rather than the gate.

  • The challenge

    It has to work under stress

    Adverse weather, a surge at shift change or an incident elsewhere on the estate are exactly when the gate matters most.

    The answer

    Read at range, with no stopping

    Transit Ultimate reads the tag from up to 15 metres with the vehicle moving, is rated IP66, and with the optional Security Key Pack encrypts the communication between tag and reader with AES128.

Which reader for which vehicle

A secure estate's gate identifies three things: the vehicle, the driver where the policy requires it, and the number plate as an independent check. Each has its own reader, and all of them report to the same security platform.

Main reader

Primary vehicle identification

Nedap Transit Ultimate

Authorised vehicles carry a tag in the windscreen, and Transit Ultimate reads it from up to 15 metres as the vehicle approaches, so the gate knows the vehicle before it reaches the barrier. It provides the long read range and the reliability a primary identification point needs, and with the optional Security Key Pack the communication between tag and reader is AES128 encrypted.

Reads
Semi-active tag in the windscreen
Read range
Up to 15 metres
Vehicle speed
Up to 200 km/h (125 mph)

Dual-factor authentication

Nedap Transit Ultimate + Transit Booster tags

The driver's own access card is read together with the vehicle's ID, in one transaction, where the gate has to know who is driving as well as what they are driving.

Reads
The vehicle's ID and the driver's own card, in one read

Plate-based verification

Nedap ANPR Lumo

Every vehicle's number plate is read in parallel and cross-referenced against the estate's lists, and visitors and contractors with no tag are identified the same way.

Reads
The number plate, with no tag
Read range
2 to 10 metres

How Transit Ultimate works at the gate

Isometric view of a secure estate gate with weldmesh fencing on both sides of the approach: a Transit Ultimate reader on a pole reads the tag in an approaching 4x4's windscreen from up to 15 metres, the security platform in the guardroom checks the credentials, the barrier opens with the road blocker behind it lowered, and the event is recorded in the vehicle log, with a security operations block and a camera mast beyond

  1. Vehicle approaches

    Transit Ultimate reads the windscreen tag from up to 15 metres as the vehicle approaches.

  2. Credentials checked

    The security platform checks the tag, and the driver's card where the gate asks for both.

  3. Barrier opens

    The road blocker behind it stays down for a vehicle that has passed its checks.

  4. Event recorded

    Vehicle, credentials and time, timestamped in the security operations platform.

Beyond the main gate

The main gate is the first layer. The same tag identifies the vehicle again at each line inside the estate, so passing the outer gate does not open every gate after it.

  • Inner compounds

    A second reader at the inner fence line checks the vehicle again, and the driver's credential where the compound requires it.

  • Hangars and vehicle sheds

    A tagged vehicle is read as it approaches, and the door opens without the driver getting out to use a reader.

  • Staff and visitor parking

    Staff cars are identified on a windscreen tag and visitors by number plate with ANPR Lumo.

  • Exit lane

    A reader on the way out closes the record, so the log shows which vehicles are on the estate at any moment.

Guardroom and weldmesh perimeter fencing around a secure estate, with mown grass between the fence lines

The Nedap applications catalogue

Defence & High-Security Estates is one of 11 applications in Vehicle Access, Solved, the Nedap vehicle identification catalogue we publish for the UK and Ireland. Each page shows which reader does the main job, where a second reader picks up untagged or visitor vehicles, and a site where it is in use.

15 pages, PDF. Defence & High-Security Estates is on page 12.

Open the applications catalogue

Case study

Abu Samra border crossing, Qatar

Qatar's Ministry of Interior replaced manual vehicle checks at one of the country's key entry points with Nedap UHF RFID identification, integrated into the AEOS access control platform.

A border post is a long way from a UK defence estate, but the requirement is the same: every vehicle identified without a manual check, every movement recorded by the system rather than by the officer at the window, and the people on the gate used for judgement rather than paperwork.

A Nedap installation, deployed with local partner MANNAI TRADING Co.

Works with the security operations platform already on the estate

Neither reader needs its own software. Transit Ultimate hands the tag number, and with Booster tags the driver's card number, to the security platform as a standard reader, over Wiegand or RS232 as standard with RS422, RS485, TCP/IP and Profibus DP interface boards. ANPR Lumo sends plate reads over Wiegand, RS485 or Ethernet, with a REST interface for other software.

Identification events and the credentials presented are timestamped and recorded in the connected security operations platform through open protocols, so the estate is never tied to one vendor. Where a site needs its own access control, Norpass3 is licence-free.

Our UK engineering team understands the procurement, compliance and operational requirements of UK defence and government estates work, and works through the integration with you or your installer before the hardware is specified.

ReaderOutputs and interfacesProtectionDatasheet
Transit Ultimate Outputs and interfaces Wiegand, magstripe and barcode outputs. RS232 as standard, with RS422, RS485, TCP/IP and Profibus DP interface boards Protection IP66 Transit Ultimate datasheet
ANPR Lumo Outputs and interfaces Wiegand, RS485 and Ethernet, with a REST interface for other software Protection IP65 ANPR Lumo datasheet

Defence estate vehicle access control FAQs

What is vehicle access control for a defence or high-security estate?

It identifies each vehicle arriving at the gate, checks it and, where the policy requires, its driver against the estate's authorised lists, and records every event in the security operations platform. The authorised fleet is identified by a long-range RFID tag in the windscreen, the driver by their own credential, and every vehicle's number plate is verified in parallel.

Can the gate require more than the vehicle tag?

Yes. With Transit Booster tags, Transit Ultimate reads the vehicle's ID and the driver's own access card, HID Prox, MIFARE, iClass or LEGIC, in one transaction, so the gate knows both who is driving and which vehicle they are in. The access control system can add a further verification step at the gate where the policy requires one.

Is the communication between tag and reader encrypted?

It can be. Transit Ultimate's optional Security Key Pack encrypts the communication between tag and reader with AES128, which is the configuration we specify for defence and government estates.

How are visitors and contractors handled?

By number plate. ANPR Lumo reads the plate from 2 to 10 metres and the security platform cross-references it against the lists the estate holds, for registered vehicles and for expected visitors. A vehicle that isn't expected stays at the barrier and is dealt with by the guardroom in the usual way.

Is every event auditable?

Yes. Each identification event and the credentials presented are timestamped and recorded in the connected security operations platform, so the estate holds a complete record of every vehicle movement and who was driving.

Will the readers keep working in bad weather?

Transit Ultimate is rated IP66 and ANPR Lumo IP65, and the readers have no moving parts. The vehicle is read while it is moving, so the gate does not depend on a driver winding a window down in the rain.

Will it work with the security platform already on the estate?

In most cases, yes. Transit Ultimate and ANPR Lumo present as standard readers over Wiegand, RS232, RS485 or TCP/IP, and ANPR Lumo also has a REST interface, so the events go into the platform the estate already runs through open protocols. Our engineers work through the integration with you or your installer before the hardware is specified.

Related solutions

Related products

Talk it through with an engineer

Every estate has its own policy for who and what comes through the gate, and every security platform has its quirks. Before the hardware is specified, talk to someone who has done it before.

Our engineers in Cwmbran will help you scope the application, recommend the reader mix and the credential workflow, work through the integration with the platform already on the estate, and stay with you through commissioning. When you call, it's an engineer who answers.

Call +44 (0)1633 485 533

It helps to know

  • How many gates and lanes there are, and which of them need the driver verified as well as the vehicle
  • Who arrives: the estate's own fleet, staff, contractors, visitors
  • The security operations or access control platform already on the estate, and the barriers and blockers at the gate

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