Altaeros is pleased to announce the recent acquisition of a 5-year, $99 million Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (ID/IQ) contract from the Department of Homeland Security, specifically the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). This contract pertains to the supply and maintenance of autonomous aerostats and related support services. U.S. Customs and Border Protection, with a workforce exceeding 60,000 personnel, stands as one of the world’s largest law enforcement entities, entrusted with the responsibility of preventing terrorists and their weaponry from entering the United States while simultaneously facilitating legitimate international travel and trade. Altaeros takes great pride in contributing to CBP’s mission to safeguard the American population, protect national borders, and advance the country’s economic well-being through our ST-Flex Guardian Class autonomous aerostats.

“The Altaeros team along with the ST-Flex Guardian Class autonomous aerostat surpassed all mission and operational availability objectives during demonstrations along the southern border earlier this summer.  We are committed to providing the most stable and operationally cost-effective persistent aerial platform on the market.”  said Altaeros CEO Ben Glass. “The ST-Flex is uniquely suited for our US Government and International customers looking for a persistent ISR platform that is payload agnostic for a wide range of multi-domain operations and various mission sets.”

ST-Flex Guardian Class carries up to 130+ lbs (60 kg) of payload at heights up to 1,000 feet (305 m) above ground. The umbilical tether houses dedicated fiber optic cables for avionics and payloads, ensuring data is kept separated and secure. The modular payload bay is sensor/communications agnostic, supporting a range of payloads, including ISR, Radar, Narrow-Field EO/IR, SIGINT, cUAS, Communications relay, 4G/5G, and more. Aerostat Autopilot™, Altaeros’ proprietary autonomous control system, eliminates on-site crew for daily operations and ensures the highest level of mission availability, making ST-Flex the most reliable aerostat solution in its class. Learn more about the ST-Flex Guardian Class aerostat here: https://www.altaeros.com/st-flex-guardian-class/

About Altaeros

Altaeros’ mission is to connect people, machines, and data, regardless of location. We leverage cutting-edge autonomy and advanced aerospace technology to build the most effective aerial platform. Our SuperTowers are used to deliver high-speed communication networks, integrated sensor packages to provide persistent battlespace surveillance and an elevated vantage point for early detection of threats. Altaeros is headquartered in Somerville, Massachusetts, with production and testing facilities in Fremont, New Hampshire. Altaeros is backed by SoftBank Group, SKK, Safar Partners, SPARX, and others.

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Post Image- Altaeros ST-Flex Guardian Aerostat (Image Credit: Altaeros)