Athena Technologies Announces Release of New ``Micro'' Guidance Systems



    Athena Technologies announced today from the Farnborough
    International Air Show the release of two revolutionary "micro" size
    navigation solutions for manned and unmanned air vehicles (UAVs). The
    Micro INS(TM) and the Micro GuideStar(TM) both include Inertial
    Navigation System (INS), Global Positioning System (GPS) and air data
    sensor system (ADAHRS), and the Micro GuideStar(TM) also includes full
    flight control capability. The Micros are available to navigate and/or
    autonomously control many different types of vehicles, such as drones,
    missiles, target UAVs, hand-launched UAVs, ground robots, and general
    aviation aircraft for various commercial applications. In addition,
    the smaller, lighter systems can be used by the military as personal
    navigation and tracking for land warriors.
    Each Micro solution is the size of a small cell phone, weighs only
    four ounces (115 g), and offers plug and play integration into an
    aircraft or ground vehicle in record time, reducing the overall time
    to market for vehicle manufacturers. Based on low cost, high
    performance Micro-Electromechancial Systems (MEMS) sensors with high
    MTBF (Mean-Time-Between-Failure), the Micro INS and Micro GuideStar
    perform with the highest level of precision and reliability but at an
    affordable price. The affordability also enables vehicle manufacturers
    to use multiple Micro systems for extra redundancy and reliability for
    unmanned applications. The combination of the Micro with other
    technologies, such as voice recognition technology and sense and avoid
    systems, provides a near term solution for the safe integration of
    manned and unmanned aircraft in the National Air Space.
    Dr. David Vos, Athena Technologies CEO and CTO commented: "We are
    pleased to release our newest and smallest Micro INS and GuideStar
    products, offering customers miniaturized, all-in-one solutions with
    computer, sensors and optional mission management and flight control
    software. These new products use the same field-proven technology that
    has evolved over two decades and that is today being used to navigate
    and control more than a dozen UAV platforms, tallying well over
    100,000 flight hours."

    About the Micro INS(TM) and Micro GuideStar(TM)

    -- Dimensions: 4.5 x 2 x 1 in3 (114 x 51 x 25 mm3)

    -- Volume: 8.0 in3 (130 cm3)

    -- Weight: 4 ounces (115 g)

    -- Built-in tri-axial magnetometer with automatic hard iron
    compensation

    -- Built-in air data system pressure transducers including static
    and airspeed

    -- Kalman filter INS/GPS providing high accuracy navigation and
    control state vector

    -- 0.1(degree) attitude accuracy, 0.3(degree) heading accuracy

    -- Electrical and mechanical design and manufacturing process
    that meets stringent environmental requirements, including
    temperature, shock, vibration, electromagnetic interference
    (EMI) and humidity

    -- C/A Code GPS Receiver, WAAS enabled and differential ready
    (Optional integration with external GPS receiver, including
    SAASM - Micro GuideStar only)

    -- Software module providing Athena's full suite of advanced
    flight control capability (Micro GuideStar only)

    Athena is exhibiting at the Farnborough International Air Show,
    from July 16-21, 2006, in the UAV Pavilion in Hall 1, Stand B16. The
    company is also hosting a press conference luncheon about integrating
    manned and unmanned aircraft in the National Air Space on Wed, July
    19, at 1:00 pm in the Farnborough International Media Centre, Hatfield
    Room, Hall 1-A.

    About Athena Technologies, Inc.

    Athena Technologies is a premier developer and producer of
    navigation and control systems. Founded in 1998, the company produces
    the GuideStar(TM) family of versatile, compact and cost-effective
    flight control systems for applications such as Unmanned Aerial
    Vehicles (UAVs), target drones and missiles. The company is an
    independent, privately held firm with headquarters in Northern
    Virginia, USA. Additional information is available at
    www.athenati.com.