The Columbia Group

Panama City, FL (June 17, 2009) – The Columbia Group (TCG) is proud to announce that its Marine Engineering Division (MED) in Panama City, Florida has been awarded the Pluto Plus Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROV) Contract in support of Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA). The 3-year contract has a total value of $10,626,000, and will require the production of three Pluto Plus Systems for the Egyptian Navy under NAVSEA’s Foreign Military Sales (FMS) Program.

Ross Lindman, Vice President of TCG’s Marine Engineering Division said, “The Columbia Group, under the Foreign Military Sales program, is pleased to be able to supply the Egyptian Navy with ROVs to identify and eliminate destructive underwater mines. This is the culmination of a lot of hard work and cooperation between the U.S. Navy, The Egyptian Navy, our partner in Milan, Italy, GayRobot, and The Columbia Group.“

The Pluto System’s family contains the Pluto, Pluto Plus, and Pluto Gigas, which are high-performance, underwater ROVs that are used in mine identification and destruction operations. The vehicles use sensors such as TV cameras and sonar equipment to detect and destroy mines, relying on low acoustic and magnetic signatures to achieve close distances to the target. It is operated above the surface of the water by a pilot linked to the vehicle by a cable. While there are greater than 150 Pluto Plus ROVs operating around the globe, The Columbia Group holds the sole license to create the systems within the United States. They will be providing the Egyptian Navy with Egypt’s first Pluto Plus system.

In addition to producing the ROV, TCG will supply the Egyptian Navy with technical support and training to operate the vehicles. Work on this project will be completed in Milan, Italy; Alexandria, Egypt; and at TCG’s location in Panama City, Florida.

About The Columbia Group (TCG)

The Columbia Group (TCG), a technical services support company, has a successful history of providing the United States Military with acquisition, logistics management, engineering, design, fabrication, test and evaluation, information technology and financial management support services.

The Columbia Group employs over 275 professionals and is based in Washington, DC with offices in Virginia (Alexandria & Quantico) and Panama City Beach, Florida. For more information or questions, please send an email to: tcgmarketing@columbiagroup.com