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EADS North America’s Tentainer™ mobile shelter debuts at the U.S. Military Surgeons Association’s annual meeting

Arlington, Virginia; Russellville, Arkansas, November 10, 2008

A compact and highly deployable mobile shelter for military medical support missions, emergency response and disaster relief will be unveiled by EADS North America at this month’s Association of Military Surgeons of the United States (AMSUS) annual meeting in San Antonio, Texas, beginning Sunday, Nov. 9.

The new unit, called Tentainer™, is a hybrid shelter that combines a rigid-walled, lightweight lower container with a multi-cell inflatable tent upper portion.  Built by EADS North America Integrated Shelter Systems in Russellville, Ark., Tentainer is tailored for applications such as military forward surgical stations, trauma treatment facilities, first aid stations and mobile command posts.

Tentainer is part of the EADS North America’s TransHospital® Future Combat Support Hospital (FCSH), which is being evaluated by the U.S. Army for its Future Medical Shelter System requirement.  The Future Combat Support Hospital provides a self-contained medical care facility that is transportable by land, sea and air and is based on EADS’ operationally-proven TransHospital modules – which are deployed in Afghanistan, Kosovo and various other countries by NATO and allied nations.

“The Tentainer module underscores our ability to use demonstrated EADS technologies for systems that meet and exceed the U.S. military’s evolving requirements,” said David R. Oliver, Jr., Chief Operating Officer of EADS North America.  “Tentainer’s production in Arkansas is another example of how we in-source technology to the U.S., resulting in new American jobs.”

Tentainer’s unique advantages include easy transportability by helicopter and small vehicles; air delivery with EADS’ SPADES parachute guidance system; quick set-up with pre-integration of equipment, supplies and electrical/environmental control systems; and a rigid, self-supporting floor for medical and other demanding operations.

The Tentainer is 8.9 ft. long, 5.9 ft. wide and 4.9 ft. high in its stowed configuration for deployment.   Setup time is approximately 20 minutes, with the Tentainer becoming an 8.9 ft. X 12.5 ft. X 9.2 ft. operational shelter that provides a working surface area of 110 sq. ft.

Tentainer is designed to be operated autonomously, and it also can serve as the first element of EADS North America’s full-scale TransHospital Future Combat Support Hospital – which is created using 8 ft. X 8 ft. X 20 ft. ISO hardwall containers and inflatable softwall shelters.  Each of these modules is capable of rapid assembly, and is interconnected using walk-through passageways with air and water-tight seals.

More than 500 TransHospital shelters have been delivered to date, validating the system’s capabilities as field hospitals, rescue and logistic support centers – on both land and sea platforms. 

Germany is one of the largest TransHospital military users today, with current deployments including a combat support hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan and a 260-bed field hospital in Kosovo.   These facilities can be used to perform a full range of medical services including treatment and diagnostics, surgeries, burn treatment, dentistry, food chemistry, microbiology and patient recovery.

Tentainer will be displayed on the EADS North America exhibit (booth #159) at the annual meeting of the Association of Military Surgeons of the United States, which is being held Nov. 9-14 at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center, San Antonio, Texas.

  • Download the Tentainer handout, which was prepared for distribution at the AMSUS annual meeting (774 Kb).

About EADS North America
EADS North America is the North American operations of EADS, the second largest aerospace and defense company in the world. As a leader in all sectors of defense and homeland security, EADS North America and its parent company, EADS, contribute over $10 billion to the U.S. economy annually and support more than 190,000 American jobs through its network of suppliers and services. Operating in 17 states, EADS North America offers a broad array of advanced solutions to its customers in the commercial, homeland security, aerospace and defense markets.