Atair awarded $3.2 million Onyx™ precision parafoil system contract by U.S. Army
BROOKLYN, NY – September 06, 2006 – Atair Aerospace (Atair) has been awarded a $3.2 million contract by the U.S. Army to supply Onyx™ precision guided parachute systems. Based on an exhaustive search of public record, Atair believes this to be the single largest purchase of precision parafoils by the U.S. Army to date.
The Onyx system contract is being issued by the U.S. Army Natick Soldier Systems Research, Development and Engineering Command (RDECOM). Onyx systems will be used for precision airdrop reliability and confidence testing conducted at the U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground in Yuma, Ariz. Onyx systems are autonomously guided parafoil systems designed to allow military cargo to be parachuted from high altitudes of up to 35,000 ft, autonomously glide for 30+ miles, and land on a preprogrammed target—accurate to about 150 ft. The Onyx system is designed to fulfill precision airdrop requirements under the U.S. Army's Joint Precision Airdrop System (JPADS) program.
The JPADS program was developed to help transition the U.S. military's current WWII-era low-altitude, low-accuracy, high-vulnerability airdrop practices into the 21st century. Existing airdrop methods expose ground forces conducting resupply operations to the growing threat from insurgents' low-cost improvised explosive devices (IEDs); air crews are exposed to threat from man-portable air defense systems (MANPADS) and rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs). Onyx systems can be likened to smart bombs, but for the safe precision delivery of cargo. Onyx systems provide military planners with the capability of strategically and covertly positioning equipment and supplies for rapidly moving ground and special operations forces.
Atair's Onyx systems are equipped with advanced flocking, swarming and collision avoidance capabilities. With this technology, multiple Onyx systems (50+) with payloads ranging from small ground sensors or small munitions to 2,200 lbs of mission-critical supplies can be deployed in the same airspace, guiding to one or multiple targets without the possibility of midair collisions. Atair is the first company in history to develop and demonstrate flocking/swarming and collision avoidance capabilities.
Headquartered in Brooklyn, N.Y., Atair Aerospace is a high-technology defense contractor dedicated to modernizing military and government logistics by creatively solving complex aerospace and engineering problems that integrate the state-of-the-art in parachute designs and guidance, navigation, and control systems. Atair Aerospace's inventive products include the Onyx™ precision guided parachute system, the long endurance autonomous powered paraglider (LEAPP™) UAV, and the GPS-Integrated Inertial Navigation Unit (INU). Atair developed the Onyx precision guided parachute system under contract with the U.S. Army, and the LEAPP UAV under contract with DARPA.
For more information, contact Rick Zaccari at
PR@atairaerospace.com or visit the Atair Aerospace website at
www.atairaerospace.com.
