Army Purchases 16 More TCOM Aerostats for Iraq

TCOM, L.P. has been awarded a contract to provide the army with sixteen 17M™ Tactical Aerostat Systems to support our troops during ongoing hostilities in Iraq.

(PRWEB) July 5, 2005

TCOM, L.P. has been awarded a contract to provide the army with sixteen 17M™ Tactical Aerostat Systems to support our troops during ongoing hostilities in Iraq. The contract award is valued at approximately $12 million and is part of a prime RAID 3 contract awarded to Raytheon by the Army. 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. Carrying payloads to operating altitudes of 1000 feet, the system provides persistent surveillance staying aloft for up to a week at a time.

Beginning its 35th year of operations, TCOM is the only company in the world that exclusively designs, manufactures, tests, operates and supports tethered aerostat systems, both domestically and internationally. TCOM’s highly focused research & development effort has enabled it to maintain its leadership in the global aerostat market. For more information on TCOM, please visit http://www.tcomlp.com.

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