Pratt & Whitney Receives Conventional Take Off and Landing-Carrier Variant F135 Engine Receives Initial Service Release

Defense News ~ EAST HARTFORD, Conn., March 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Pratt & Whitney has achieved initial service release (ISR) for the conventional take off and landing/carrier variant (CTOL/CV) F135 engine, marking another major milestone as the engine is cleared for operational use in the Lockheed Martin F-35 stealth fighter. Pratt & Whitney is a United Technologies Corp. (NYSE:UTX - News) company.

"Achieving initial service release means the F135 CTOL/CV engine, with more than 13,000 test hours, has met all necessary requirements and proven the safety, reliability and performance of this product for operational use in the field," said Warren Boley, Vice President of F135 Engine Programs. "I am so proud of the F135 CTOL/CV team and our partners at Hamilton Sundstrand, Lockheed Martin and the Joint Program Office for this great program accomplishment. We look forward to seeing the F135-powered Lightning II in operational flight."

Pratt & Whitney has delivered 17 flight test engines, as well as the first production F135 engine, and expects to deliver the final short take off and vertical landing (STOVL) flight test engine early this year.

"The F135 CTOL/CV propulsion system has been certified for Low Rate Initial Production and flight operations," said Rob Burnes, F-35 Joint Program Office, Propulsion Director. "I congratulate the entire F135 team on achieving this milestone."

Pratt & Whitney has designed, developed and tested the F135 to deliver the most advanced fifth generation fighter engine for the U.S. Air Force, Marine Corps and Navy, as well as for eight international partner countries. The F135 is derived from proven technology of the only operational fifth generation fighter engine, the Pratt & Whitney F119 that powers the F-22 with more than 275,000 operational flight hours. It has been further enhanced with technologies developed in several Air Force and Navy technology programs.

The F135 propulsion system has proven it can meet diverse aircraft requirements, and the ground and flight test experience demonstrates the capability of the F135 engine for armed forces around the world.

Pratt & Whitney is a world leader in the design, manufacture and service of aircraft engines, space propulsion systems and industrial gas turbines. United Technologies, based in Hartford, Conn., is a diversified company providing high technology products and services to the global aerospace and building industries.

This press release contains forward-looking statements concerning future business opportunities and operational engine performance. Actual results may differ materially from those projected as a result of certain risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to changes in funding related to the F-35 aircraft and F135 engines, changes in government procurement priorities and practices or in the number of aircraft to be built; challenges in the design, development, production and support of advanced technologies; as well as other risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to those detailed from time to time in United Technologies Corp.'s Securities and Exchange Commission filings.

Erin Dick
Pratt & Whitney Military Engines
860.557.0122
860.565.9600
erin.dick@pw.utc.com Related Headlines Willis H. Carrier Total Indoor Environmental Quality Lab Dedicated at the Syracuse Center of Excellence in Environmental and Energy Systems- PR Newswire Pratt & Whitney Receives Conventional Take Off and Landing-Carrier Variant F135 Engine Receives Initial Service Release - PR Newswire GE's Immelt declines bonus, total pay nudges up - Reuters General Electric (GE) Predicted To Lose Their AAA Rating; Profitability Continues For The Behemoth - Wall Street Transcript Boeing Selects Pratt & Whitney to Power Boeing's Proposed NewGen Tanker to be Offered to U.S. Air Force - PR Newswire

Roland Announces MPX-90 Desktop Impact Printer for Industrial Marking

Defense News ~ IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Roland DGA Corp. has introduced the MPX-90 desktop impact printer, a powerful, affordable imprinting device for industrial marking applications.

Based on the Roland Photo Marking System (RPMS), the MPX-90 uses a durable diamond-tipped stylus to imprint hard surfaces including stainless steel, titanium, iron, gold, silver, copper, platinum, brass, aluminum, nickel and acrylic. This innovative system produces flawless photographs, vector images and fonts up to 529 dpi. The MPX-90 features a maximum printing area of 3.1” x 3.1” and imprints items as large as 3.9” x 7.9” x 1.5” with the cover closed. Users can also insert items of virtually any length when the cover is open. Additional features include automatic surface detection, a center vise, USB connectivity and a user‐replaceable print head cartridge.

The MPX-90 is one of the industry’s lowest cost marking solutions and is ideally suited for the production of serial number plates and data plates. It can also be used for medical and industrial tool identification. With three times the force of the previous MPX model, the MPX-90 precisely imprints even the smallest text and graphics on hard surfaces including non-plated and unpolished materials. Variable data printing capabilities enable users to automatically apply unique identification numbers to each product in a series.

The MPX-90 comes with Metaza Studio photo editing software which imports data files in AI, EPS, JPEG or BMP format and accepts data from digital cameras and compatible scanners. Users can add text, frames and borders, remove backgrounds, and rotate text and images. In addition, it supports vector designs which allows for faster, more precise production of text and line art.

The MPX-90 also includes Dr. Engrave, easy-to-use engraving software that inputs text and bitmap images and supports True Type fonts. The software also comes with a built-in single stroke font editor (SFEdit) to convert any Windows True Type font into a stroke font that improves engraving speeds and allows the user to engrave smaller text without any type of overlap or bleed. Dr. Engrave supports variable data printing using .CSV or .TXT files imported into a template. This feature enables automated serialization and data plate production.

The MPX-90 is priced at $4,495. For more information, please call (800) 542-2307 or visit www.rolanddga.com.

Photo Available on Request

Contact:

Roland DGA Corporation
Laurie Weller
(949) 727-2100 ext. 1287
lweller@rolanddga.com

OGC Announces Earth Observation Profile for Web-Based Catalogue Services

Defense News ~ WAYLAND, MA--(Marketwire - 03/05/10) - The Open Geospatial Consortium, Inc. (OGC®) announces adoption and availability of the OGC Catalogue Services Standard Extension Package for ebRIM Application Profile: Earth Observation Products, and also the related Geography Markup Language (GML) Application Schema for EO Products. Together, these standards, when implemented, will enable more efficient data publishing and discovery for a wide range of stakeholders who provide and use data generated by satellite-borne and aerial radar, optical and atmospheric sensors. The OASIS standard ebRIM (Electronic business Registry Information Model) is the preferred cataloguing metamodel foundation for application profiles of the OpenGIS Catalogue Service Web (CS-W) Standard.

The CS-W ebRIM EO standard describes a set of interfaces, bindings and encodings to be implemented in catalog servers so that data providers can publish descriptive information (metadata) about Earth Observation data. Developers can also implement this standard as part of Web clients that will enable data users and their applications to very efficiently search and exploit these collections of Earth Observation data.

The CS-W ebRIM EO standard was developed based on requirements from the European Space Agency and partners as part of the Heterogeneous Missions Accessibility project. The Submission Team for this standard included ERDAS, Spacebel s.a. and the European Space Agency. The Geography Markup Language (GML) Application Schema for EO products was developed by the European Space Agency, the French Space Agency, the European Satellite Center, Spacebel s.a. and Spot Image.

The CS-W ebRIM EO standard and the GML Application Schema for EO products are available athttp://www.opengeospatial.org/standards/cat2eoext4ebrim.

The OGC® is an international consortium of more than 390 companies, government agencies, research organizations, and universities participating in a consensus process to develop publicly available geospatial standards. OpenGIS® Standards support interoperable solutions that "geo-enable" the Web, wireless and location-based services, and mainstream IT. OGC Standards empower technology developers to make geospatial information and services accessible and useful with any application that needs to be geospatially enabled. Visit the OGC website at http://www.opengeospatial.org.

Contact:

 
Contact: 
Lance McKee
Open Geospatial Consortium, Inc 
Tel: +1-508-655-5858
Email Contact 

Northrop Grumman Team Awarded CANES Development Contract

Defense News ~ SAN DIEGO, March 5, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The U.S. Navy has selected Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC -News) for the development phase of the U.S. Navy's Consolidated Afloat Networks and Enterprise Services (CANES) program. CANES will streamline and update shipboard network systems to improve interoperability and affordability across the fleet.

A team led by Northrop Grumman received a $17.4 million indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, cost-plus-incentive-fee, cost-plus-fixed-fee and firm-fixed-price contract, one of two CANES Common Computing Environment system development contracts awarded by the Program Executive Office C4I, Tactical Networks Program Manager (PMW-160) in San Diego on March 4. Work under the contract is expected to be complete in April 2011.

If all options are exercised, the contract will include system production through September 2014 and be valued at $775 million.

IBM Global Business Services, Bethesda, Md., is Northrop Grumman's major technology and services partner on CANES.

The CANES program is an investment in a modernized command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C4ISR) architecture that will increase security while significantly reducing development, deployment and lifecycle costs.

"As the Navy elevates information to a core warfighting capability and effects full maritime domain awareness, the foundational infrastructure must be based on a secure, reliable and interoperable network," said Linda A. Mills, corporate vice president and president of Northrop Grumman Information Systems sector. "The Northrop Grumman team is honored and 'at the ready' to take on this vital effort for information age operations."

Northrop Grumman builds more ships, in more ship classes, than any other U.S. naval shipbuilder. The company also has more than 40 years of C4ISR experience and has fielded the majority of the Navy's C4ISR applications.

"Our team's approach focuses on providing required C4ISR infrastructure capabilities at minimal total ownership cost. We designed a technically and financially superior solution by applying the Northrop Grumman-developed Modular Open Systems Approach - Competitive(TM) (MOSA-C^(TM) ) process, an enduring, vendor- and product-neutral, model-based architecture that leverages our in-depth knowledge and domain experience across the Navy," said Michael Twyman, vice president for Integrated Command, Control, Communications and Intelligence Systems at Northrop Grumman.

Northrop Grumman's MOSA-C^(TM) is a strategic business and engineering process that realizes the life-cycle benefits of open-systems architecture and commercial off- the-shelf (COTS) components and software. Applying MOSA-C^(TM), the company verified "plug and play" modularity and the ability of multiple COTS and open source products to meet CANES current and future requirements, providing a low-risk solution verified through extensive testing. Northrop Grumman also integrated a service-oriented architecture and C4ISR applications with its CANES approach, reducing the risk in deploying the next generation of C4ISR solutions for the Navy.

The Northrop Grumman-led team also includes key small-business partners Atlas Technologies, Charleston, S.C.; Beatty and Company Computing, Juno Technologies, and Syzygy Technologies, Inc., all based in San Diego; and CenterBeam, Inc., San Jose, Calif.

The CANES program office for the Northrop Grumman team will be located in San Diego.

Northrop Grumman Corporation is a leading global security company whose 120,000 employees provide innovative systems, products, and solutions in aerospace, electronics, information systems, shipbuilding and technical services to government and commercial customers worldwide.

Contact:

Janis Lamar
Northrop Grumman Information Systems
(703) 345-7046
janis.lamar@ngc.com

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TASC Announces its Board of Directors

Defense News ~ CHANTILLY, Va., March 5 /PRNewswire/ -- TASC, Inc. (TASC), the premier independent and non-conflicted provider of advanced system engineering, integration and decision-support services to the intelligence, defense and federal civilian markets, has selected the company's new board of directors. The board chair isDavid H. Langstaff, a veteran industry leader.

"With its core systems engineering heritage and technical and analytical capabilities, TASC is at the forefront of helping the government protect the nation from today's most serious security risks," Langstaff noted. "As a newly independent company, and with our strong shareholder support, TASC is poised to build on its 43-year reputation of success by expanding its presence as the government's non-conflicted partner of choice."

David H. Langstaff, Chairman. Mr. Langstaff became board chairman of TASC in December 2009 when General Atlantic and KKR acquired the company. Previously, he was president, chief executive officer and director of Veridian Corporation, a position he held from 1997 with the company's formation until its sale to General Dynamics in August 2003. He currently serves on the board of directors for QinetiQ Group PLC, is a member of the Defense Business Board and chairs the Advisory Board of the Aspen Institute Business and Society Program. Mr. Langstaff is also a Special Advisor to General Atlantic.

T. Wood Parker. Mr. Parker is president and chief executive officer of TASC, the leading non-conflicted provider of advanced system engineering, integration and decision-support services for intelligence community, Department of Defense and civilian agencies of the federal government. Previously at Northrop Grumman, Mr. Parker served as president of both the Intelligence Group (TASC) and the Federal Enterprise Solutions business units. Prior to joining Northrop Grumman in 2000, he was the managing partner of the PricewaterhouseCoopers L.L.P., Washington Consulting Practice in Washington, D.C. Mr. Parker has served as a commissioner on the President's Commission on White House Fellowships. He was president of the White House Fellows Association, a member of the Planning Forum and a principal on the Council for Excellence in Government.

John W. Barter. Mr. Barter held numerous executive level positions with AlliedSignal including Chief Financial Officer and later President of its Automotive Group. After retiring from AlliedSignal, Mr. Barter served as the Chief Financial Officer of Kestrel Solutions, Inc., a venture capital supported company in the telecommunications field. Mr. Barter will be the Audit Committee chair.

Adam H. Clammer. Mr. Clammer heads the KKR Technology Group. He has been actively involved with several companies, including Aricent (formerly Flextronics Software), Avago Technologies (formerly Agilent Semiconductor), Borden, Intermedia Communications, Jazz Pharmaceuticals, MedCath, NuVox, NXP (formerly Philips Semiconductor), RELTEC, SunGard Data Systems and TASC. He is currently on the board of Aricent, Avago, Kodak, NXP and TASC and is a member of the SunGard operating committee. Prior toMarch 2010 TASC, Inc. 4805 Stonecroft Boulevard, Chantilly, Virginia 20151 joining KKR, Mr. Clammer was with Morgan Stanley & Co. in Hong Kong and New York in the mergers and acquisitions department.

Steven A. Denning. Mr. Denning is the chairman of General Atlantic. He joined the firm in 1980 and has built the organization into one of the leading global equity investment firms focused exclusively on investing in growth companies. He also serves on the board of Gavilon Holdings, LLC, IHS, Inc., Genpact Global Holdings, Inc. and The Thomson Reuters Corporation. Previous board roles include SRA International, Hewitt Associates and several other public and private companies.

Jamie H. Greene, Jr. Since joining KKR in 1986, Mr. Greene has been involved with numerous portfolio companies. He played a significant role in the development of Accuride, Aricent, Avago Technologies, Intermedia Communications, NuVox (NewSouth Communications), Owens-Illinois, Randall's Food Markets, RELTEC, RJR Nabisco, Safeway, Shoppers Drug Mart, Stop & Shop Companies, Sun Microsystems, SunGard Data Systems, Tenovis and Zhone Technologies. Currently, he is on the board of Aricent, Avago Technologies, NuVox, SunGard Data Systems and Zhone Technologies. He heads the industrials industry team and co-heads the technology industry team. Prior to joining KKR, Mr. Greene had 14 years of banking experience as a vice president of Bankers Trust Company in Los Angeles where he was involved in large corporate lending, management buyout financings and other merger and acquisition transactions, including KKR transactions.

David M. Kerko. Since joining KKR in 1998, Mr. Kerko has been actively involved in the investments in Borden, Toys 'R' Us and NXP (formerly Philips Semiconductor). He is a member of the technology industry team. Currently, he is on the board of Avago Technologies. Prior to joining KKR, Mr. Kerko was with Gleacher NatWest Inc. where he was involved in merger and acquisition transactions and financing work.

Peter A. Marino. Mr. Marino serves as a consultant to numerous government and industry companies on defense and intelligence issues. Previously, Mr. Marino served as chief executive officer and president of Fire Arms Training Systems. He has held numerous executive positions at E-Systems, Inc., Fairchild Industries, Inc., Lockheed Electronics Co., Inc. and the Central Intelligence Agency.

Philip P. Trahanas. Mr. Trahanas is a managing director at General Atlantic. He has experience in operating, investment banking and private equity roles. Mr. Trahanas co-leads the firm's Business Services and Technology sector, and is on the board at Trow Global and Quality Technology Services. Prior board affiliations include SRA International, PowerDsine, Vindigo and ZTango. Before joining General Atlantic in 2000, Mr. Trahanas was with Morgan Stanley's Investment Banking division, where he worked on the high technology corporate finance team, was a merger and acquisition specialist and a member of the division's operating management team. His experience includes financing and strategic merger and acquisition transactions across industries.

About TASC

TASC is the premier, non-conflicted provider of advanced system engineering, integration and decision-support services across the intelligence community, Department of Defense and civilian agencies of the federal government. For more than 40 years, TASC has partnered with our customers toward one goal—the success of their missions. Our broad portfolio of services includes system and policy analysis; program, financial and acquisition management; enterprise engineering and integration; advanced concept and technology development; and test and evaluation. With nearly 5,000 employees, TASC generates more than$1.6 billion in annual revenue. For more information and career opportunities, visit our website atwww.tasc.com.

    
    
    CONTACT 
    DeeAnn Connors 
    (703) 653-5752 
    DeeAnn.Connors@TASC.com

Teledyne Technologies to Present at Raymond James' Institutional Investors Conference on March 9

Defense News ~ THOUSAND OAKS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Teledyne Technologies Incorporated (NYSE:TDY - News) today announced that Jason VanWees, vice president, corporate development and investor relations, will make a presentation at the Raymond James’ 31st Annual Institutional Investors Conference on Tuesday, March 9, at 9:15 a.m. (Eastern) at the JW Marriott Grande Lakes in Orlando, Fla.

A live webcast of Teledyne Technologies’ conference presentation may be accessed via the company’s website atwww.teledyne.com. In addition, Teledyne Technologies’ latest investor presentation is publicly available on the company’s website.

Teledyne Technologies is a leading provider of sophisticated electronic subsystems, instrumentation and communication products, engineered systems, aerospace engines, and energy and power generation systems. Teledyne Technologies’ operations are primarily located in the United States, the United Kingdom and Mexico. For more information, visit Teledyne Technologies’ website at www.teledyne.com.

Teledyne’s investor relations presentation contains forward-looking statements, as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, relating to earnings, growth opportunities, product sales, pension matters, stock option compensation expense, taxes and strategic plans. All statements made in the investor presentation that are not historical in nature should be considered forward-looking. Actual results could differ materially from these forward-looking statements. Many factors could change the anticipated results, including continuing disruptions in the global economy, insurance and credit markets, changes in demand for products sold to the defense electronics, instrumentation and energy exploration and production, commercial aviation, semiconductor and communications markets, funding, continuation and award of government programs, continued liquidity of the company’s suppliers and customers (including commercial and aviation customers), availability of credit to the company’s suppliers and customers, and product warranty and recall and replacement costs. Increasing fuel costs could negatively affect the markets of the company’s commercial aviation businesses. Lower oil and natural gas prices could negatively affect the company’s business units that supply the oil and gas industry. In addition, financial market fluctuations affect the value of the company’s pension assets.

Global responses to terrorism and other perceived threats increase uncertainties associated with forward-looking statements about the company’s businesses. Various responses to terrorism and perceived threats could realign government programs, and affect the composition, funding or timing of the company’s programs. Flight restrictions would negatively impact the market for general aviation aircraft piston engines and components. Changes in U.S. Government policy could result, over time, in reductions and realignment in defense or other government spending and further changes in programs in which the company participates, including anticipated reductions in the company’s missile defense engineering services and gas centrifuge service module manufacturing programs.

The company continues to take action to assure compliance with the internal controls, disclosure controls and other requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. While the company believes its control systems are effective, there are inherent limitations in all control systems, and misstatements due to error or fraud may occur and not be detected.

Teledyne Technologies’ growth strategy includes possible acquisitions. The company cannot provide any assurance as to when, if or on what terms any other acquisitions will be made. Acquisitions involve various inherent risks, such as, among others, the company’s ability to integrate acquired businesses and retain customers and to achieve identified financial and operating synergies. There are additional risks associated with acquiring, owning and operating businesses outside of the United States, including those arising from U.S. and foreign government policy changes or actions and exchange rate fluctuations.

Additional information concerning factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements is contained in Teledyne Technologies’ periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its 2009 Annual Report on Form 10-K. The company assumes no duty to update forward-looking statements.

Contact:

Teledyne Technologies Incorporated
Investor Contact:
Jason VanWees, 805-373-4542
or
Press Contact:
Robyn McGowan, 805-373-4540

Related Headlines
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UPDATE 1-Defendant to plead guilty in US arms sting case

Defense News ~ WASHINGTON, March 5 (Reuters) - U.S. prosecutors on Friday alleged that a former arms executive, who is expected to plead guilty to bribery charges, made illicit payments to defense ministry officials in Georgia.

Daniel Alvirez, a former president of an arms manufacturer in Bull Shoals, Arkansas, plans to enter a guilty plea in the next few weeks to charges under the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, according to his attorney.

"I can confirm that," the attorney, Michael Volkov, said.

Volkov spoke after U.S. prosecutors filed a so-called superseding information against Alvirez that laid out in greater detail than before an alleged scheme to bribe foreign government officials, including payments to Georgian defense officials.

The Georgian bribes were allegedly paid to secure contracts for the sale of M855 ammunition and rations, according to the superseding information.

Officials at the Georgian embassy in Washington could not immediately be reached for comment.

Superseding informations, which replace previous criminal charges, are typically filed when a defendant has negotiated a plea agreement with the government.

Alvirez was one of 22 arms executives arrested in January -- 21 of them at a convention in Las Vegas -- in the largest prosecution of individuals brought by the U.S. Justice Department under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).

The act makes it a crime to bribe foreign officials to obtain or retain business.

The 22, including a former senior salesman at Smith & Wesson (SWHC.O), were charged in 16 separate indictments after a sting in which federal agents posed as arms-buying representatives of the defense minister of an African country.

The investigation marked the first time the U.S. government had employed an undercover operation to ensnare individuals under the FCPA.

The superseding information spells out additional details about the FCPA conspiracy charge brought against the defendants.

While the 22 appeared to have no ties to one another beyond being ensnared in the same sting, the document says that Alvirez and 16 other defendants attended a cocktail reception at Clyde's restaurant in Washington, D.C., to celebrate their respective deals in the sting operation.

The company Alvirez worked for is not identified in the superseding information, but he was formerly president of ALS Technologies Inc, which makes tear gas launchers, bullets and other ammunition. (Reporting by Dan Margolies; Editing by Tim Dobbyn, Gary Hill)

AeroVironment Names John Grabowsky Chief Technology Officer and Tom Herring Senior Vice President/General Manager, Unmanned Aircraft Systems

Defense News ~ MONROVIA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AeroVironment, Inc.(AV) (NASDAQ:AVAV - News) today appointed Tom Herring as senior vice president and general manager of AV’s Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) business segment and John Grabowsky as AV’s first chief technology officer, a role that will span the company’s UAS and Efficient Energy Systems (EES) business segments. Grabowsky previously served as executive vice president and general manager of UAS.

“John’s contributions to AV have been numerous and significant and as AV’s first chief technology officer he will apply his deep technical background across both our business segments, which will enhance AV’s leadership and benefit all our customers,” said Tim Conver, AV chairman and chief executive officer. Conver added that, since joining AV in 2003, Grabowsky has been instrumental in establishing AV as a global leader in unmanned aircraft systems, and the leader in small UAS.

“I am also delighted to promote Tom Herring from vice president of UAS business development to the UAS leadership role. Tom brings a wealth of experience, managerial skills and energy to our team as we address an exciting future in our industry,” Conver said.

“I cannot think of a more qualified individual to lead the UAS segment than Tom,” said Grabowsky. “Since joining AV in November 2008, Tom has demonstrated creativity, tenacity and effectiveness within the UAS group, helping to strengthen our competitive position and strategic focus. AV and our customers will benefit from Tom’s leadership.”

Prior to joining AV, Herring held multiple leadership positions during his 27-year tenure with BAE Systems. Most recently, he served as vice president and general manager of Integrated Solutions, a $150M BAE Systems business unit providing solutions for commercial and general aviation aircraft, attack rotorcraft, unmanned aerial vehicles, precision munitions, international military aircraft and ground systems. He also served as vice president of National Upgrade Programs, vice president of Display Systems and director of programs for the Display Systems product line. Tom also served in program management positions on the B-2, E-2C, E-3A and other major programs.

AV is the sole supplier to all U.S. Department of Defense programs of record for small UAS and has delivered more than 13,000 new and replacement air vehicles to customers in the United States and elsewhere. The family of small hand-launched UAS the company produces and supports includes Raven®, Wasp™ andPuma™, each of which transmits live streaming video from their day and night sensors directly to a hand-held common ground controller. These backpackable sensor platforms provide day and night, real-time video imagery for reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition in support of tactical units for missions such as route reconnaissance, base security, mission planning and force protection.

Switchblade™ is a small UAS under development that becomes a highly accurate lethal munition designed for minimal collateral damage. AV is also a pioneer in developing high altitude long endurance UAS. The Global Observer™ is a stratospheric UAS designed to provide affordable persistence without latitude restrictions for remote sensing and communications relay operations. AV's UAS logistics operation supports systems deployed worldwide to ensure a consistently high level of operational readiness. International customers include Italy, Denmark, the Netherlands and Spain.

About AeroVironment, Inc. (AV)

Building on a history of technological innovation, AV designs, develops, produces and supports an advanced portfolio of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) and efficient electric energy systems. Agencies of the U.S.Department of Defense and allied military services use the company’s battery-powered, hand-launched UAS to provide situational awareness to tactical operating units through real-time, airborne reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition. AV’s clean transportation solutions include power cycling and test systemsand industrial electric vehicle charging systems for commercial and institutional customers, in addition to EV home chargers and EV fast chargers for consumers. More information about AV is available atwww.avinc.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

Certain statements in this press release may constitute "forward-looking statements" as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are made on the basis of current expectations, forecasts and assumptions that involve risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, economic, competitive, governmental and technological factors outside of our control, that may cause our business, strategy or actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, our ability to perform under existing contracts and obtain additional contracts; changes in the regulatory environment; the activities of competitors; failure of the markets in which we operate to grow; failure to expand into new markets; failure to develop new products or integrate new technology with current products; and general economic and business conditions in the United States and elsewhere in the world. For a further list and description of such risks and uncertainties, see the reports we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We do not intend, and undertake no obligation, to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Additional AV News: http://avinc.com/resources/news/

AV Media Gallery: http://avinc.com/media_gallery/

Follow us: www.twitter.com/aerovironment

Contact:

AeroVironment, Inc.
Steven Gitlin
+1 (626) 357-9983
pr@avinc.com
or
Mark Boyer
For AeroVironment, Inc.
+1 (310) 229-5956
mark@boyersyn.com

Related Headlines
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AeroVironment Receives $37.9 Million in Orders for Digital Raven Unmanned Aircraft Systems, Digital Retrofit Kits, Support Services - Business Wire
AeroVironment upgraded by Sun Trust Rbsn Humphrey - Briefing.com