Raydon wins $20 million VCOT Contract

Raydon Corporation has won a $20 million contract to expand the U.S. Army National Guard’s training infrastructure. The National Guard will add 10 Virtual Convoy Operations Trainers (VCOT) to its existing fleet of 114 and upgrade three existing systems.

The VCOT is a mobile classroom that was first developed and fielded by Raydon in 2004. Units have been deployed in all 54 states and territories in which the National Guard operates. The current, fourth generation VCOT helps develop skills in unstabilized gunnery, maneuver and convoy operations, providing commanders the ability to network systems together for higher echelon training – and offers training from individual to crew to company level.

Raydon’s work with the National Guard has been a kind of innovation incubator, according to Don Ariel, Raydon’s co-founder and CEO, who says, “Together we have deployed a commercial training infrastructure, including VCOT, that is both flexible and cost-effective, directly addressing the Guard’s challenges of budget and mission volatility.”