Bangladesh’s Expanding Surveillance Architecture: A Decade of Networked Intelligence and Defence-Industrial Growth

Reading Time: 24 minutes Bangladesh’s transformation from a traditional security model to a data-driven surveillance power is a story of systematic modernisation rather than rapid revolution. Over roughly ten years, the nation has methodically assembled an architecture of intelligence and surveillance technologies that rivals far larger regional actors in sophistication and integration. This shift has not been driven by political impulses or external compulsion but by the recognition within its defence and security community that the nature of modern security threats — hybrid, asymmetric, and increasingly digital — demands an equally advanced intelligence ecosystem. The evolution of Bangladesh’s surveillance network should be viewed as a structural pillar of its national security modernisation. Parallel to the armed forces’ Forces Goal 2030 initiative, the government’s investment in surveillance technology has provided the informational backbone for modern command and control, cyber readiness and internal stability. The development path adopted by Dhaka reflects a