McMurdo Wins $7.5m Contract with U.S. Coastguard

McMurdo has been awarded an order from the U.S. Coastguard worth up to $7.5m over 5 years to supply Fastfind Plus Personal Locator Beacons (PLBs). The Fastfind Plus, with built-in GPS, is an upgrade of the standard Fastfind, a similar quantity of which was supplied to the U.S. Coastguard over the past 3 years. This new contract is to equip U.S. Coastguard personnel with the latest technology lifesaving beacon. It houses a 406MHz transmitter and 121.5MHz homing signal to alert search and rescue services to their location in the event of an incident.

The PLB is a handheld beacon which is registered to the individual user. When activated, the Fastfind Plus provides a 406MHz alert signal via the COSPAS-SARSAT satellite system to Search and Rescue authorities. There is a visual indication of GPS acquisition. Fastfind Plus also transmits on the International Aircraft Emergency Frequency of 121.5MHz providing a homing signal for the Search and Rescue (SAR) services.