Jane Edwards
The Defense Department has begun to seek vendors that can develop, deliver and operate 10 tethered aerostat platforms for Saudi Arabia, Bloomberg Government reported Tuesday.
DoD said in an April 16 announcement that aerostats should have a set of sensors such as acoustic sensors, a ground indicator for moving targets and two electro-optical/infrared sensors in support of surveillance, communication and force protection missions.
The Pentagon is looking for a 131-foot-long aerostat system designed to carry up to 1,100 pounds of payloads and plans to release a request for proposals this month or by June.
Bloomberg reports Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and TCOM as potential bidders for the program.
DoD’s announcement came more than a year after the State Department approved Saudi Arabia’s request to purchase 10 aerostats for persistent threat detection operations under a potential $525 million foreign military sales agreement.
