May 2, 2007
EADS North America’s comprehensive mobile shelter solutions for U.S. defense, homeland security and disaster recovery applications were highlighted at a major military exhibition in Panama City, Florida this week.
Participating in the bi-annual meeting of the Defense Department’s Joint Committee on Tactical Shelters (JOCOTAS), EADS North America exhibited its modular TransHospital® transportable emergency care systems – including a new hybrid unit tailored specifically for U.S. first-response requirements.
The company’s TransHospital shelters have been in production for 10 years, and benefit from worldwide operational experience that varies from on-going military service with NATO allies in Serbia and Afghanistan to post-hurricane recovery relief along the U.S. Gulf Coast and disaster response in Indonesia following the Indian Ocean tsunami.
“EADS is unique with its capability to develop and deliver end-to-end shelter systems that have been proven with real field experience,” explained Jan Krueder, the manager of EADS North America Integrated Shelter Systems in Russellville, Arkansas.
Displayed at the JOCOTAS meeting in Florida were a TransHospital operating room and support ward module – both of which are housed in transportable shelters. These units were evaluated in 2006 by the U.S. Army for its Future Medical Shelter System (FMSS) requirement, and are being further evolved at the EADS Russellville facility in preparation for Army operational testing this summer.
Also unveiled at JOCOTAS was the new Tentainer® hybrid shelter, which is sized to fit on a standard pallet for deployment aboard aircraft and with ground vehicles. Tentainer opens into a rigid wall container topped by an inflatable tent-like roof, and is designed for early entry medical care applications – including use by special operations units. As a highly mobile system, it can be pre-integrated with medical care equipment, communications systems and other hardware, and is designed to be air-dropped for rapid set-up on the front lines.
“Tentainer is an example of how EADS uses its mobile shelter expertise in meeting users’ requirements,” Krueder said. “We realized the need exists for small, highly capable shelters that could handle everything from rapid-response medical care to a mobile command post used on both land and sea.”
In response, EADS engineers quickly designed and built a full-scale Tentainer mockup in 2006. Work is now underway on the initial prototype, which will be ready at the Russellville facility later this year.
