TAG Announces Global UAV Dealer Network at AUVSI 2006

September 03, 2006 (PRLEAP.COM) Business News
Orlando, FL August 31, 2006 — Tactical Aerospace Group (www.tacticalaerospacegroup.com) announced the initiation of it's global UAV dealer network today at the AUVSI show in Orlando, Florida.

TAG contracts manager, Marnie Taylor, said "it was the culmination of almost two years effort to setup a network structure of this magnitude and encompass all the logistics required to fully support the dealers". TAG currently has more than 180 applications from over 70 countries to become factory dealers for their VTOL UAV systems.

The new dealers will be full service operations and are required to maintain demonstration aircraft, factory certified service and training, and a full spare parts inventory sufficient to support their customer base.

Taylor said "a key element to supporting the TAG dealer network is a totally automated computer data system to manage maintenance, inventory, parts tracing, certifications, manufacturing processes and notices for the entire global enterprise". Dealers will enter in their data and the aircraft flight records and with this information in the system they will be automatically supplied with inventory just as they need it as well as receive automatic notices for expiring TBOs and maintenance operations. The system will maintain a compressive traceable record of all activities and equipment. End-users will also have the option to lease terminals on this network to provide them with most of the same services and information.

Over the next several months TAG will be announcing the first awards of dealership status in various countries. The initial dealerships will likely be in the UK, Spain, Turkey, UAE, Australia, Argentina, Israel, Mexico and Brazil.

TAG believes this is an important step towards the distribution and support of commercial UAV operations. Taylor said "we believe we are the first company outside general aviation to facilitate the framework and support for wide scale distribution and sales in the UAV industry".

Although the military and government make up the current primary customer base an enormous commercial market will develop over the next decade. A market study just released by the Teal Group (www.tealgroup.com) predicts a total $55 billion market through the next 10 years and TAG studies predict that UAV sales will soon dwarf general aviation production numbers and steadily climb far past them in units produced and delivered.

Taylor added "we have to set up the framework now to meet and exceed the current aviation industry standards for distribution and service with a special focus on traceability and safety as we will, and should be, be held to much higher standards. This goes far beyond simply supplying the market and into areas of test data, certification, and parts and materials traceability. After all, we are the new aviation segment and have a 100 years of catch-up to perform".

In addition to TAG aircraft, several other UAV systems and payload vendors have expressed interest in having their products marketed and supported through the same network and sales channels.