TCOM's Aerostats:
35 Years of Reliable Performance
Basically tethered blimps, TCOM aerostats and their ground support equipment have evolved into the present state-of-the-art systems over more than three decades of on-station operations. Aerostats have demonstrated an overall availability unmatched by any other aircraft in the history of aviation.
TCOM aerostats have been around the world from the arctic to the tropics and the desert to the ocean. TCOM’s first aerostat was located on Grand Bahama Island. This system demonstrated the versatility of aerostats as stable, high altitude platforms for surveillance and communications tasks. Next, TCOM operated aerostats on small offshore resupply vessels proving the economy and operational usefulness of sea-based aerostat systems. Using our large 71M® Aerostat System, TCOM developed and deployed low altitude surveillance systems which we operated in the Southwest U.S. and the Middle East. Operating at 15,000 feet, these systems demonstrated persistent coverage capabilities with a high availability rating and the effectiveness of aerostats for electronic surveillance and airborne early warning systems.
