As time progressed the East German border was modernized to keep pace with technology and the ingenuity of escapees. Even as the Wall fell in 1989, the government already had plans to implement another generation of border security measures and  fortifications utilizing the latest technology. Always sensitive to the bad public image that the border fences and walls presented, the new measures, called Grenze 2000, depended less on fences and firearms and more on passive detection systems.

In 1983, Heinz Hoffmann, Secretary of Defense for the German Democratic Republic, complained that in some cases escapees were able to cross the border after detonating mines or being shot thus allowing the West to observe and document the incidents. Hoffmann felt the border barriers needed to be upgraded to save the German Democratic Republic from further embarrassment and political damage. The new generation of equipment implemented in the Grenze 2000 modernization would lessen the potential embarrassment caused by killed or wounded border escapees.

Major General Günter Gabriel, deputy commander for the Grenztruppen, had already ordered infrared barriers which would  trigger search lights and alarms when a person crossed through the barrier. Another device planned for implementation was the Soviet radio wave system "Vitim" which could monitor up to one kilometer of the border. Implementing this system would have cost the East German government over 50 million Ost Marks.

Another interesting product was a system which had been successfully tested in Afghanistan by the Soviets. This special ultra-thin wire would totally immobilize a person caught in it. The Grenztruppen also planned to use an underground seismograph sensor called "Gerb" which could detect movement within a 500 meter perimeter.

The most impressive system, though, was  a microwave barrier which had also been successfully used in Afghanistan to protect military bases. Called "Gerogin RLD-73", these transmitters could lay a 7 meter wide barrier over a distance of three hundred meters. By the time the Wall fell In 1989, the East Germans were still experimenting with 10 such units.