SO. ST. PAUL, Minn., 6 April 2005. Digital Angel Corp. announced today that its London-based subsidiary, Signature Industries, has been awarded a $1 million contract from the U.K. Ministry of Defence for upgraded antenna extensions on its personal locator beacons (PLBs), used by military pilots.
The company expects to begin shipping the new antennas in the second quarter.
Signature Industries, through its SARBE division, manufactures a complete military combat PLB system as well as peace-time military search and rescue beacons and has worked with the UK Ministry of Defence for more than 50 years. The Digital Angel subsidiary, which had $19 million in revenue in 2004, provides its complete line of military rescue beacons to more than 40 countries worldwide including the Indian Air Force and the Royal Air Force in Great Britain.
Because satellite system changes will require the replacement of all international military rescue beacons within the next four years, it is expected that a total of more than $200 million will be spent on these products during that time frame, said Digital Angel CEO Kevin McGrath.
"We can expect many orders from many countries between 2005 and 2009 due to the changing satellite system," McGrath said. "Our G2R Beacon is one of the most sophisticated military rescue beacons on the market today and we believe the potential for growth is significant. There is a large market at stake here and we are determined to win our share of it."
SARBE is a major supplier of Search and Rescue (SAR) military air crew Pilot Locator Beacons (PLBs) and other military rescue beacons for use in the event of an ejection or other event requiring emergency evacuation of an aircraft in a remote, possibly hostile location. Now in its fifth decade of developing and manufacturing PLBs, SARBE is the chosen supplier of PLBs in more than 40 countries worldwide. Signature Industries is majority owned by Digital Angel Corporation. For more information, see www.signatureindustries.com.
Digital Angel Corp. develops and deploys sensor and communications technologies that enable rapid and accurate identification, location tracking, and condition monitoring of high-value assets. Applications for the company's products include identification and monitoring of pets, fish, livestock, and humans through its patented implantable microchips; location tracking and message monitoring of vehicles and aircraft in remote locations through systems that integrate GPS and geosynchronous satellite communications; and monitoring of asset conditions such as temperature and movement, through advanced miniature sensors. Digital Angel Corporation is majority-owned by Applied Digital, Inc. For more information, see www.DigitalAngelCorp.com.
Applied Digital develops innovative security products for consumer, commercial, and government sectors worldwide. The company's products provide security for people, animals, the food supply, government/military arena, and commercial assets. Included in this diversified product line are RFID applications, end-to-end food safety systems, GPS/Satellite communications, and telecomm and security infrastructure, positioning Applied Digital as the leader of Security Through Innovation. Applied Digital is the owner of a majority position in Digital Angel Corp. For more information, see www.adsx.com.
