Airborne Surveillance

Troops in Iraq will have more eyes in the sky watching over them shortly. TCOM, L.P. has been awarded a contract to provide the army with sixteen 17M™ Tactical Aerostat Systems.

The contract award is valued at approximately $12 million and is part of a prime RAID 3 contract awarded by the Army to Raytheon. Program support will be performed at TCOM's headquarters in Columbia, MD with production activities conducted at TCOM's Manufacturing and Flight Test Facility in Elizabeth City, NC.

This system, part of the Army's Rapid Aerostat Initial Development system, RAID program, is a tethered balloon equipped with round-the-clock intelligence gathering capabilities and provides enhanced communication on the battlefield. Major Reid Vander Schaaf from the RAID program office stated, "These systems are saving soldiers' lives".

The ease of use and mobility make these systems popular. Trailer mounted for ease of transport and deployment, this system can be operated by three people and deployed in less than two hours. The system provides persistent surveillance, carrying 200 lbs of payload to operating altitudes of 1000 feet and staying aloft for up to a week at a time.

Starting its 35th year of operations, TCOM is the only company in the world that exclusively designs, manufactures, tests, operates and supports tethered aerostat systems.

FMI: www.tcomlp.com