(Excerpt reprinted from Infodefensa.com)
By Gabriel Porfilio
Infodefensa visited the facilities of the North American company TSS Solutions in Melbourne (Florida). Currently the company offers its primary 3D radars in several countries on the American continent.
As reported by the firm, TSS has completed the installation, integration and commissioning of more than 1,200 satellite antennas, provided support for countless ground and air surveillance programs for SOUTHCOM, NORTHCOM, and anti-narcotics surveillance programs, particularly in Colombia, where maintenance of its TPS-70 units and an extensive list of additional contracts is currently being carried out.
As for the United States Air Force, TSS maintains a contract to upgrade, modernize and conduct service programs for the extension of the useful life of its TPS-75, TPS-70 and TPS- 43 ground-based radar network. A similar program was carried out in Canada ... to repair, rebuild, and maintain its TPS-70 ground radars. The work included the total reconstruction of the radars, establishment of a logistics chain for their maintenance and replacement of obsolete systems with state-of-the-art ones.
Along the same lines, the company is advancing in the completion of a TIGAR radar for the Ecuadorian Air Force, as well as in the negotiation of systems with Peru.
The company’s CEO, Don DiFrisco, noted that the company began in 1991 as a small startup, specialized in providing radar and telecommunications solutions for both the local and international markets. After more than 30 years, it has provided services for the entire United States and 120 foreign countries.
DiFrisco also highlighted that the combination of a proven system – such as the AN/TPS-43 line of radars, modernized to the latest technological standards – together with a substantially lower acquisition price than the competition, [gives his company a competitive advantage].
Opportunities for Latin America
Along with the MASS (Mobile Air Surveillance System) surveillance program , which included Belize, Colombia, Costa Rica, Curacao, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama and the United States, TSS also completed the repair, reconstruction and modernization of a TPS-70 radar installed in Liberia, Costa Rica. Work is currently being advanced on the modernization of an AN/TPS-43 radar to the most modern version of the system, the TIGAR.
This sale, which was carried out under the United States FMS (Foreign Military Sales) program, will provide the Ecuadorian Air Force with a state-of-the- art primary mobile radar, at a cost much lower than that of its competitors. In addition to the countries mentioned, several nations in the region are looking at TSS Solutions.
The TSS Integrated Ground-Based Air Radar
This primary mobile radar is based on an ... AN/ TPS-43 and elevates it to its maximum [capacity], turning it into a next-generation system at a very affordable cost. This is a very attractive option for the Latin American market, a region that urgently needs to improve its radar coverage, particularly to fight the scourge of drug trafficking and that, in general, has limited financial resources.
The TSS [upgrade] includes antenna modernization, amplifier assembly, new touch consoles for operators, radar processor, power distribution system, IFF interrogator, frequency generator and ADS information tracking aggregate -B , among others.