Tethered Aerostats
Platforms
Elevating Awareness Through Lighter-Than-Air Tethered Aerostat Platforms
TCOM offers elevated awareness Lighter-Than-Air Tethered Aerostat platforms are designed to collect information from multiple sensors and interoperate with other aerial and unattended ground radars.
TCOM Elevated Awareness Solutions are custom-tailored to meet our customer needs for today and tomorrow. Designed to enhance customers’ effectiveness in today’s multi-domain operations, TCOM’s Lighter-Than-Air systems provide a persistent presence complementing and enhancing UAVs, Aircraft, and satellites. Capable of delivering 360-degree coverage for detection, surveillance, monitoring, and targeting on long-endurance missions exceeding 14 days, Lighter-Than-Air platforms create a unique ability to understand life patterns in areas of interest.
TCOM's Family of Aerostats for Tactical and Strategic Missions
Tactical Aerostat Platforms
TCOM’s Tactical Aerostat Platform is a compact, highly portable persistent surveillance solution designed to meet the tactical needs of operators on the battlefield. These rugged and versatile systems are ideal for land surveillance applications that require rapid deployment, retrieval, and relocation.
Tactical Aerostat Platforms can be customized with payloads that include video surveillance, infrared, and SIGINT / COMMS Relay equipment, enabling forces to obtain actionable data, even in the most remote and challenging terrain. TCOM’s Tactical Aerostat Platforms have been used extensively in theater in Iraq and Afghanistan. They are currently supporting U.S. Customs and Border Patrol in enhancing security along the U.S. border with Mexico. These versatile systems represent the future of aerostat systems deployment and design.
Operational Aerostat Platforms
TCOM’s Operational Aerostat Platforms offer unrivaled versatility and performance. These medium-sized aerostat systems offer both the flexibility and portability for accelerated launch and retrieval, along with the capacity for sustained deployment for up to two weeks at a time.
Operational Aerostat Platforms are ideal for monitoring areas in which ground-based surveillance would be rendered ineffective by domain obstructions, or where manned aerial surveillance is deemed too costly. Versatile Operational Aerostat Platforms may carry payloads that include radar, SIGINT, and COMMS Relay to altitudes as high as 3,000 ft above ground control station. This makes the systems ideal for maritime surveillance applications, protecting ports and coastal borders, as well as inland border surveillance applications
Strategic Aerostat Platforms
TCOM’s Strategic Aerostat Platforms include some of the largest tethered aerostats currently in operation. These robust systems are ideal for aerial surveillance applications due to their enormous payload capacity and extended altitude range. TCOM’s Strategic Aerostat Platforms are capable of sustained deployments lasting up to 30 days at a time.
Typically, Strategic Aerostat Platforms are customized for surveillance applications that involve the detection of low-flying, fast-moving objects including light aircraft and cruise missiles. Strategic platform payloads may include long-range radar, active and passive communications equipment as well as COMINT/ELINT technologies, often carrying payloads as high as 15,000 ft above ground control station. Due to their large size, high altitude, and considerable payload, Strategic Aerostat Platforms use a stationary mooring station.
12M Aerostat System:
TCOM’s 12M aerostat system is the most compact and portable solution of its kind available today. The 12M offers rapid deployment and retrieval, enabling operators in the field to obtain actionable surveillance data faster than ever before.
| 12M-SPECIFICATIONS | |
|---|---|
| Payload Weight | 27k/ 60lbs |
| Nominal Altitude | 305m/ 1000 ft |
| Available Payload Power | 500 W |
| Flight Duration | 7 days |
| Wind Speeds | Operational- 40 kts/ Survival-55 kts |
17M Aerostat System:
TCOM’s 17M aerostat systems offer battle-tested reliability along with total customization for a versatile solution to inland surveillance missions. These compact systems can be deployed in a matter of hours and require minimal manpower to operate.
| 17M-SPECIFICATIONS | |
|---|---|
| Payload Weight | 145 kg/ 320 lbs |
| Nominal Altitude | 610 m/ 2000 ft |
| Available Payload Power | 2kw |
| Flight Duration | 14 days |
| Wind Speeds | Operational- 40 kts/ Survival-55 kts |
22M aerostat system
TCOM’S 22M aerostat system is trusted by military forces and border authorities alike. The system can be assembled in a matter of hours and can be deployed from stationary or mobile mooring stations.
| 22M-SPECIFICATIONS | |
|---|---|
| Payload Weight | 202 kg/ 445 lbs |
| Nominal Altitude | 900 m/ 3000 ft |
| Available Payload Power | 2 kW |
| Flight Duration | 14 days |
| Wind Speeds | Operational- 55 kts/ Survival-75 kts |
28M aerostat system
TCOM’s 28M is one of the most widely-used aerostat systems available today. The 28M offers battle-proven reliability and can be customized with multiple payload configurations to meet the most demanding mission requirements.
| 28M-SPECIFICATIONS | ||
|---|---|---|
| Payload Weight | 385 kg/ 850 lbs | |
| Nominal Altitude | 1525 m/ 5000 ft | |
| Available Payload Power | 5 kw | |
| Flight Duration | 14 days | |
| Wind Speeds | Operational- 55 kts/ Survival-75 kts |
34M AEROSTAT SYSTEM
TCOM’s 34M is one of the most widely-used aerostat systems available today. The 34M offers battle-proven reliability and can be customized with multiple payload configurations to meet the most demanding mission requirements.
Versatile Operational Class aerostat systems may carry payloads that include radar, SIGINT and COMMS Relay to altitudes as high as 5,000 ft above ground control station. This makes the systems ideal for maritime surveillance applications, protecting ports and coastal borders, as well as inland border surveillance applications.
| 34M-SPECIFICATIONS | ||
|---|---|---|
| Payload Weight | 689kg/1520lbs | |
| Nominal Altitude | 1525m /5000 ft | |
| Available Payload Power | 5 kW | |
| Flight Duration | 30 days | |
| Wind Speeds | Operational- 55 kts/ Survival-75 kts |
55M aerostat system
TCOM’s 55M is ideal for monitoring areas where ground-based surveillance would be rendered ineffective by domain obstructions or where manned aerial surveillance is deemed too costly.
| 55M-SPECIFICATIONS | ||
|---|---|---|
| Payload Weight | 907 kg/ 2000 lbs | |
| Nominal Altitude | 2133m/ 7000 ft | |
| Available Payload Power | 23.5 kVA | |
| Flight Duration | 30 days | |
| Wind Speeds | Operational- 70 kts/ Survival-90 kts |
71M aerostat system
TCOM’s 71M aerostat system is a versatile wide-area persistent surveillance solution. U.S. Military and allied forces rely on the 71M as an integral component of missile and air defense systems.
| 71M-SPECIFICATIONS | |
|---|---|
| Payload Weight | 2155 kg/ 4750 lbs |
| Nominal Altitude | 4570 m/ 15000 ft |
| Available Payload Power | 23.5 kVA |
| Flight Duration | 30 days |
| Wind Speeds | Operational- 70 kts/ Survival-90 kts |
74M aerostat system
The 74M is one of the largest and most powerful aerostat systems available. The high altitude and maximum payload capacity set the 74M apart as a reliable tool for aiding military forces in sustained aerial surveillance applications.
Strategic Class payloads may include long-range radar, active and passive communications equipment, and COMINT/ELINT technologies, often carrying payloads as high as 15,000ft above the ground control station. Due to their size, high altitude, and considerable payloads, Strategic Class aerostats use a stationary mooring station.
| 74M-SPECIFICATIONS | |
|---|---|
| Payload Weight | 3855 Kg/8,500 lbs |
| Nominal Altitude | 3,000 m/ 10000 ft |
| Available Payload Power | 70kVA |
| Flight Duration | 30 days |
| Wind Speeds | Operational- 70 kts/ Survival-100 kts |
117M aerostat system
The 117M is the largest and most powerful aerostat system available. The high altitude and maximum payload capacity set the 117M apart as a reliable tool for aiding military forces in sustained aerial surveillance applications.
| 117M-SPECIFICATIONS | |
|---|---|
| Payload Weight | 8164kg/18,000 lbs |
| Nominal Altitude | 4877m/ 16,000ft |
| Available Payload Power | 130kVA |
| Flight Duration | 60 days |
| Wind Speeds | Operational- 80 kts/ Survival-90 kts |
Solution Architecture
TCOM strives to give you the assurance that the investment you have already made in defensive security technology will be optimized and that the technology will enable our monitoring systems to help protect you.
We can review both the architecture and the configuration of technical security controls deployed to safeguard your digital assets once we have a clear understanding of the risks you face to ensure they are configured to identify relevant compromises and minimize damage from compromises.
We can also provide active management of these platforms to ensure that their configuration remains commensurate with the evolving risks you face.
Strategic Engineering Services
TCOM has extensive experience in all phases of intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance R&D – from concept development and prototyping to transforming prototypes into final products.
This broad technical and operational experience, combined with our proven program management capabilities, enables us to provide our customers with solutions that meet program objectives and perform in the field.
Mission Support & Sustainment
TCOM’s Mission Support and Sustainment capabilities strategically identify our customers’ demands and their drivers. We leverage our lessons learned and turn them into best practices that are implemented across programs and deliver improved quality, efficiency, and security. As part of our mission-enabling technology and automated and data-driven logistics, we provide resilient solutions matched to the customer’s mission, commodity, and environment.
Custom Manufacturing
TCOM is involved in all aspects of the aerospace supply chain, from single components to complex systems, to aerospace structures and their contents. Our services cover the entire lifecycle of an aerospace asset, from raw material to aftermarket support. We are competitive because of our unique ability to integrate a wide range of products and services. By aligning our go-to-market strategies with our customers’ needs, this organizational structure gives us greater clarity into our capabilities. Furthermore, it improves the efficiencies of our operation by better aligning our talent with our internal operations.
Product Improvement
Intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) technologies are integrated into TCOM platforms to increase situational awareness, mobility, interoperability, and survivability. TCOM’s technology-agnostic integration provides the flexibility that customers need. Our team offers full lifecycle support for ISR systems, from design to deployment to maintenance and improvements.