Los Angeles, California — July 30, 2002 — The Worldwide Aeros Corp. technical board has authorized the Aeros Stratospheric Platform development unit to proceed with the fabrication and flight test phase of its Integrated Subsystem Station Keeping Technology (SKT) to demonstrate the all-digital flight controls for the Stratospheric Airship developed by Aeros. This effort represents the flight test portion of the SKT Demonstration Program, a major High Altitude Airship (HAA) technology maturation effort.

The go-ahead was issued following successful completion of the SKT Critical Design Review on July 29 and 30. An Aeros 40B test airship - the High Altitude Advanced Technology Integration Airship (MSN: A40B-19) - will be modified at the Aeros Flight Test Site and is scheduled to make its first flight at the end of 2002. It will be flown under a Research & Development FAA airworthiness certificate for a demonstration and evaluation program.  More than 20 test flights will be conducted.

In an historic "first" for lighter-than-air technology, the effort will demonstrate the ability of the digital flight control system, including hardware and software, to perform station-keeping capabilities for the HAA program that will eliminate all of the concerns regarding one of the key elements in the successful development of an unmanned stratospheric airship.

"We are relying on the SKT effort to substantiate the benefits of the digital flight controls and further reduce the risk to our HAA program," said Igor Pasternak, Aeros CEO. "This is one of the many technologies we are using to achieve the HAA's affordability goals without sacrificing the airship mission capabilities. The SKT program is vital to our concept for the High Altitude Airship," Pasternak said.

Two modified GPS units with vertical component processing systems and inertial sensor devices will be installed in the test airship to provide input data to duel redundant flight control computers (FCC).  A key component of the system will be a fault-tolerant main position and forward-looking FCC.  The FCC will generate command signals to all HAA flight and support systems.

The Advanced Technology Integration airship Aeros 40B will be used as a flying test bed.  It has previously demonstrated other flight control technologies including the first digital flight controller, a pneumatic flight and pressure control system, and fully automatic control-configured airship concepts.

About Aeros: AEROS is the world's leading lighter-than-air, FAA-certified aircraft manufacturing company.  The company’s operations involve research, development, and marketing of a wide variety of air vehicles. These include rigid aeroscrafts, commercial non-rigid airships, and advanced manned and unmanned tethered aerostatic systems. The airships are available for utilization in a variety of civil and military missions.  AEROS successfully completed the FAA Type Certification of its Aeros 40B multi-commercial use airship, and FAA applications are filed for its Aeros ML revolution Transport Category Aeroscraft.  AEROS has affiliates in eight European and Asian countries, and the company's industry-leading expertise is based on more than 20 years of operations and research in lighter-than-air technologies. For more information about Aeros, please visit its web site at www.aerosml.com.

About Stratospheric Airship Program: The stratospheric airship offers a cost effective alternative to low earth orbit satellites. Aeros reports that the main advantages over the satellites are cost and payload recoverability. The concept is to station the unmanned airships at an altitude of 65 thousand feet and remotely maneuver them in a geostationary position. From that altitude the over the horizon capabilities are enhanced to make it an effective platform for radars and electro optical surveillance. Beyond the military application their ability to carry wireless communication antennas is seen as the most lucrative civil application for the technology.

The US homeland security issues have raised the stratospheric airship program to a new level of importance for our country. It is reported that before the end of this year the US government will issue a request for proposal for the development of the first proto-type unmanned stratospheric airship.