Aeros Awarded a U.S Department of Defense Contract for the High Altitude Airship Program.

Los Angeles, Apr. 24, 2003 The U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA), recently awarded the Aeros Company a contract for Phase I development of the High Altitude Airship (HAA) Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration (ACTD) Program.

General Ralph E. Eberhart, USAF Commander North American Aerospace Command and US Northern Command appeared before the House Armed Service Committee stating that; “The Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Missile Defense Agency, the United States Army and NORAD are spearheading the effort to demonstrate the technical feasibility of an unmanned, untethered, long-duration HAA.  The prototype airship will stay airborne for one month and carry a 4,000-pound payload.  We expect future HAAs to have the capability to stay airborne for up to a year and carry a payload greater than 4,000 pounds.  A robust HAA capability would give warfighters persistent wide-area surveillance of the battlespace against a full spectrum of air, land and sea threats.”

The contract award moves the missile defense airship development to next stage, and will ultimately lead to the demonstration of the military utility of an unmanned airship that could be used in ballistic and cruise missile defense, Pentagon officials reported. The first possible missions envisioned for the airships are a homeland security role that will see up to 12 high altitude airships positioned around the perimeter of the US by the end of the decade.

According to Aeros officials, the key to being selected for the Concept Definition Phase was the company's tight focus on affordability, innovation and their significant investment in high altitude airship technology that was demonstrated during the pre-award evaluation against teams lead by Lockheed Martin and Boeing. Aeros has assembled an impressive team of subcontractors, including large traditional defense contractors as well as small businesses.

"This is a great day for The Aeros Company," said Aeros President Igor Pasternak. "The High Altitude Airship development is driven by the critical need for national security. As the prime contractor, we consider it an honor to be awarded the responsibility for bringing this technology to an operational level. Aeros’ HAA Team is uniquely qualified to apply its unmatched design and technology to make the program a success and affordable. As for the technical risk - I have no doubt that the Aeros HAA will work,” Pasternak added.

Fred Edworthy, Aeros VP Programs said “We chose our industry team partners on a competitive basis and rely on their expertise to support our total team approach. Ultimately, the Aeros program will succeed on the basis of meeting and exceeding the Government’s requirements at an affordable cost."

About Aeros: AEROS is the world's leading lighter-than-air, FAA-certified airship manufacturing company.  The Company's operations involve research, development, and marketing of a wide variety of air vehicles. These include; rigid Aeroscraft, commercial non-rigid airships, advanced tethered aerostatic systems and High Altitude Airships. The airships are available for utilization in a variety of civil and military missions.  The Aeros ML Aeroscraft revolutionary partially buoyant air vehicle has been pioneered by the Aeros Company.  For more information about Aeros, please visit its web site at www.AerosML.com.