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Global Ground Support in Olathe, KS received a $15.4 million contract to provide deicers and support equipment for U.S. Air Force aircraft. Under the contract, Global Ground Support will deliver 196 deicer vehicles, 49 production vehicles, and 2 preproduction units to the Air Force. 642nd CBSG/GBKBB at Robins Air Force Base manages the contract (FA8533-09-D-9002).
Global Ground Support CEO Richard Smith was quoted in the Kansas City Business Journal as saying that the 196 deicers are mid-sized models that work for most Air Force aircraft. The other vehicles are much larger models used for deicing C-5 and C-17 aircraft, he said.
The contract is for 1 base year and has 4 one-year options. It replaces a previous 10-year contract that expired in June. The company has supplied 420 deicers to the Air Force in the past 10 years, he said.
DID has more on the Global Ground Support USAF deicers…
The company’s larger deicers, known as the ER-2875, are specifically designed for larger aircraft like the C-5 and C-17. The 75-foot deicer allows the USAF to deice the C-5 and C-17 military aircraft – especially the tail sections that are up to 65 feet high. Global’s other deicer models are mounted on commercially available truck chassis. The units include a boom, supply tanks and pumping and heating systems to provide a de/anti-icing operation from heights up to 40 feet while driving the truck around the aircraft at speeds up to 4 mph.
The ER-2875 provides the features of the regular equipment at heights up to 40 feet; however, for heights above 40 feet, the operator deploys a set of four stabilizers. A safety interlock system ensures that the truck is stopped and the transmission is in neutral before the stabilizers are deployed and the operator is allowed to reach the additional 30 feet. In addition, the ER-2875 uses forced air to remove snow from the tail section of the C5 and C17.