TCOM History

TCOM evolved from the efforts of Westinghouse Electric Corporation in the 1960s and early 1970s to develop prototype radar and communications systems mounted in government owned World War II barrage balloons. Procured from Great Britain, these balloons were too unstable to operate satisfactorily as airborne platforms for the intended applications. Consequently, a new aerostat family was designed, constructed and tested by DARPA, NASA and other agencies of the U.S. Government.

1971 to 1986

TCOM was established as a Westinghouse subsidiary to build on existing knowledge and further develop aerostat system technology and to pursue the technology's commercial applications. Westinghouse invested substantial funds and corporate resources in this effort, which greatly improved aerostat technology, reliability and availability while simplifying operation.

TCOM reported as a subsidiary corporation to the Defense Electronics Group located at the Westinghouse Baltimore-Washington Airport complex. During this period, TCOM developed land-based programs in the Bahamas, Korea, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Nigeria and in multiple locations in the United States. The sea-based aerostat programs included operations in the Beaufort Sea (north of the Arctic Circle) and extensive usage on ship platforms in the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean.

1986

TCOM was officially folded into the Westinghouse parent company as the Tethered Aerostat Systems Division. During the next three years, TCOM was involved in a number of new and ongoing programs, including the provision of aerostat surveillance systems to assist in the U.S. war against narcotics.

1989

Westinghouse accepted an offer for its Tethered Aerostat Systems Division from TCOM, L.P., a limited partnership formed by Craig Capital Corporation of Greenwich, Connecticut and MH Equity Corporation, a subsidiary of Manufacturers Hanover Trust Company of New York. TCOM, L.P. is essentially the same organization as the former wholly-owned TCOM subsidiary of Westinghouse and consists of the same personnel, assets and capabilities.

1990

TCOM headquarters moved to the Columbia Gateway Corporate Complex in Columbia, Maryland; midway in the Baltimore-Washington corridor. The headquarters facility is situated near key centers of government and business in the area and is convenient to Baltimore's modern port facilities as well as three major airports and rail transportation.

1996

TCOM purchased a steel hangar from Triangle Pacific. The hangar was originally built by J. A. Jones Construction in 1942 to house 9 U.S. Navy Airships. The material used for the roofing was corrugated metal. The hangar is 1000 feet in length, 300 feet in width, 200 feet high and contains two massive clamshell doors at both ends of the hangar. The new hangar with its clamshell doors will enable TCOM to produce larger LTA systems that are now in the planning stages.

2008

TCOM completed construction on a new "Ground Systems Manufacturing and Test Facility" on its 100 acre site in Elizabeth City to significantly expand TCOM's mooring system production capability.  In the future, this new facility will enable TCOM to build much larger mooring systems to accommodate aerostats over 100 meters in length.