Rolatube RTM-5 Plus 5-Meter Rollable Tactical Mast Rapid Deployment Guy-Wire Free

The Rolatube RTM-5 Plus is the rapid-deployment tactical mast designed for the operational requirement that conventional telescoping masts cannot meet: a moving infantry unit's signals team that needs to raise their HF NVIS antenna to 5 meters above terrain to establish communications with HQ in under a minute, on any surface — soft ground, rock, asphalt, vehicle roof — without the guy wire installation time that exposes the team during the emplacement phase.

The RTM-5 Plus uses the rollable carbon fiber laminate technology (Bistable Reeled Composite, BRC) originally developed by Rolatube Technology for ESA satellite deployment masts: the laminate is stored rolled on an 80 mm diameter reel and deploys by its intrinsic bistability — when pushed from the reel, the laminate spontaneously adopts the rigid tubular geometry without mechanisms or latches — reaching 5 meters in 45 seconds with a single person and no tools.

Bending stiffness of 850 N·m²/m in the deployed configuration allows holding 15 kg at the tip — equivalent to a large-aperture HF directional antenna, a PTZ surveillance camera, or a mesh communications relay with two sectorial Yagi antennas — without perceptible oscillation at wind speeds up to 35 km/h. The tubular circular profile of the BRC laminate acts as an aerodynamic deflector, reducing aerodynamic drag by 40% compared to solid tubular masts of the same outer diameter.