TCOM LP, a global leader for innovative, cost-effective airborne persistent surveillance solutions, and a Platinum Award Winner in the 2017 ‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security Awards Program, is pleased to announce the company’s Persistent Surveillance Aerostats have been nominated to compete in the 2018 ‘ASTORS’ Awards Program.
In today’s homeland security concerns over maritime areas and borders with waterways, the need to do more with less is steadily increasing.
Providing cost-effective and intelligent solutions to surveil borders, specific to the coastal surveillance in a maritime environment where ground surveillance is rendered ineffective by the scale of the maritime environment, is essential to meeting our nation’s security needs.
TCOM’s tactical and strategic Aerostats, used by Homeland Security on the Border with Mexico as well as international zones, outperform other solutions based on their ability to carry a wide variety of payload to altitudes in excess of 20,000 ft. above mean sea level (MSL) with station time measured in weeks not hours.
Recently, TCOM has unveiled a major upgrade to its 17M tactical aerostats which doubles the altitude and power to 2000′, 2 KW.
The higher altitude enhances border/port security surveillance capabilities by providing a better overall picture over structures and above haze for a clearer picture, longer coverage for interoperable communications support, as well as enables HD EO/IR of much better quality.
These sensors and their data processors often serve as the eyes of deployed maritime border security.
As EO/IR sensors are shrinking size, weight, and power consumption (SWaP), border security and military are increasingly utilizing lighter than air aerostats, instead of costly manned aircraft, so more distance and operating conditions will deliver commanders with higher flexibility in achieving their persistent surveillance border security objectives.
Moreover, TCOM’s Aerostat systems need little time to deploy and have lower maintenance requirements at a substantially lower hourly operational cost than conventional aircraft and drones.
(Learn More about TCOM platforms, features, functionality and capabilities featuring Lt. Gen. Keith Stalder, USMC (ret), Lt. Gen. Jan Huly, USMC (ret). Courtesy of TCOM, LP and YouTube. Posted onJan 3, 2018.)
Aerostats offer a combination of wide viewing angles and high resolution for more precise identification of small objects as well as surveillance of larger areas.
The versatility of a sea surveillance system makes it ideal for responding to requirements or threats that change rapidly.
- A system that is fully transportable and can be easily relocated with no site preparation
- Although fully mature, a system that can be shaped to better meet the needs of the client
- A system that can incorporate additional capabilities such as passive surveillance and remote data linking
(TCOM Operational Class Aerostat Systems ideal for maritime and border surveillance. Their complete platform solutions include numerous classes of aerostats that can each be equipped with a broad selection of proven payloads that are customizable for specific customer requirements. Courtesy of TCOM and YouTube.)
Simply put, aerostats enable true persistent, real-time tactical ISR at an affordable cost.
Aerostats can serve as a platform for an array of sensors to provide indications and warnings of aerial and maritime threats.
The helium-filled Aerostat provides a clear line of sight over air and sea space to a range of up to 200km.
The reinforced tether provides near real-time ISR to the ground station personnel who can make smarter decisions based on actionable assessments.
This is especially useful when dealing with extremely busy ports, and the difficult task to observe highly a congested waterway.
Threats to congested waterways are ever present and not hindered by time, a safe port is a productive port and is at risk of failure without superior surveillance systems such as the Aerostat.
TCOM 28M Maritime Persistent Surveillance Aerostat
Equipped to detect and track targets in the most challenging terrain, the TCOM 28M aerostat is a mid-sized, wide-area surveillance vehicle that can be customized for a variety of mission types.
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.
(These medium-sized systems are versatile and are capable of sustained deployments of up to two weeks. They are customizable, offering the consumer the flexibility to meet mission objectives. Courtesy of TCOM and YouTube.)
Aerostate Applications include:
- Illegal Immigration Monitoring
- Anti-Terrorism
- Early Intrusion Detection
- Piracy and Smuggling Deterrence
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.
Consider the scenario of a crowded port environment where many ships and small craft are transiting through highly congested waterways.
- A naval vessel enters a port but is limited to using surveillance equipment that looks outward from the deck level
- There may also be ground-based equipment on shore
- Together these systems are unable to see all the critical activity at the water level
- A low, fast moving boat quickly approaches a larger vessel undetected by traditional methods
This scenario occurred in 2000 with the terrorist attack on the USS Cole in Yemen.
(Store Keep Chief Petty Officer Sean Taitt relates his experience on USS Cole (DDG 67) when it was attacked in Aden, Yemen on 12 October, 2000. Courtesy of the U.S. Navy and YouTube.)
Aerostat system monitoring the entire port area from hundreds or thousands of feet above would provide early warning to the larger vessel, allowing for a timely reaction.
The system could have provided actionable intelligence that allowed for a greater window of time for forces to intercept or engage.
As government decision makers consider using a multi-mode surveillance approach, TCOM’s aerostats stand out in their potential to serve as eyes in the sky in international waters and other maritime regions that have been immersed in perceived threats and real conflict.
They are easy to deploy, operate in multiple environments, are efficient and technology-agnostic.
Increasing geopolitical tensions in maritime zones worldwide and in the Asia-Pacific regions have created a strategic impetus to consider new surveillance platforms for identifying real and perceived threats as they become imminent.
Now, more than ever, persistent situational awareness is critical.
TCOM delivers its practical applications for ISR with its 28M aerostat, one of its leading Operational Class aerostats, which 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.
TCOM Competes in 2018 ‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security Awards Program
AST focuses on Homeland Security and Public Safety Breaking News, the Newest Initiatives and Hottest Technologies in Physical & IT Security, essential to meeting today’s growing security challenges.
The 2018 ‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security Awards Program, is organized to recognize the most distinguished vendors of Physical, IT, Port Security, Law Enforcement, Border Security, First Responders, (Fire, EMT, Military, Support Services Vets, SBA, Medical Tech) as well as the Federal, State, County and Municipal Government Agencies – to acknowledge their outstanding efforts to ‘Keep our Nation Secure, One City at a Time.’
As an ‘ASTORS’ competitor, TCOM will be competing against the industry’s leading providers of Innovative Long Range Persistent Surveillance Solutions.
To Learn More about the ‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security Awards Program, see 2017 ‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security Award Winners Honored at ISC East.
Over 100 distinguished guests from National, State and Local Governments, and Industry Leading Corporate Executives from companies allied to Government, gathered from across North America and the Middle East to be honored from disciplines across the Security Industry in their respective fields which included:
- The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T)
- U.S. Customs and Border Protection
- The Department of Justice
- The Security Exchange Commission
- State and Municipal Law Enforcement Agencies
- The Royal Canadian Mounted Police
- Leaders in Private Security
Nominations are now being accepted for the 2018 ‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security Awards at https://americansecuritytoday.com/ast-awards/.
