U.S. Coast Guard buys up to 16,000 McMurdo emergency distress/personal locator beacons to enhance crew safety

LANHAM, Md., 17 Aug. 2016. United States Coast Guard officials needed personal locator beacons (PLBs) to improve crew safety in the event of emergencies. They found their solution at McMurdo Inc., a provider of emergency readiness and response solutions and part of Orolia Group in Lanham, Maryland.

McMurdo won a $3 million indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract with one base year and four one-year options to supply up to 16,000 of its FastFind 220 PLBs over the next five years.

The compact, handheld FastFind 220 is used to notify emergency personnel during an air, land, or water emergency in remote or high-risk environments using the 406MHz frequency. Once activated, the PLB transmits a distress signal containing unique beacon identification information and location data via the international search-and-rescue satellite system operated by Cospas-Sarsat. The signal is then quickly passed to regional search-and-rescue authorities who can rapidly respond to the emergency.

McMurdo’s end-to-end, search-and-rescue ecosystem includes distress beacons, satellite connectivity, mission control and rescue coordination center systems, and rescue response communications products. Nearly 25 percent of the world's emergency distress beacons and approximately 50 percent of the Cospas-Sarsat search and rescue infrastructure globally are manufactured by McMurdo, according to company officials.

"For 226 years, the U.S. Coast Guard has protected America's waterways, defended its borders, and saved those in peril," says Mark Cianciolo, general manager of McMurdo's aerospace, defense, and government programs. "This award is a major validation of the products and technologies that fortify McMurdo's position as the global leader in emergency readiness and response. We are honored to provide a solution that enhances the safety of crew members who risk their lives daily."

McMurdo (www.mcmurdogroup.com) is a global provider of emergency readiness and response including search and rescue and maritime domain awareness solutions. At the core of these solutions are resilient positioning, navigation and tracking products, technologies and applications that have helped to save over 40,000 lives since 1982.

Airbus, Boeing, the British Royal Navy, the U.S. Coast Guard, NOAA, NASA, and others are among the hundreds of aviation, fishing, government, marine, and military customers around the world that trust McMurdo to prevent emergencies, protect assets, and save lives. Established in January 2014, McMurdo has offices in France (Guidel and Sophia Antipolis), the U.K. (Portsmouth), and the U.S. (San Diego and Washington D.C.).

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