ORLANDO, Fla., 30 August 2006. Athena Technologies Inc. announced during the Association of Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) Conference in Orlando that it has received a $3 million order for its GuideStar flight control systems from Hunt Valley, MD-based AAI Corporation.
AAI Corporation, prime contractor for the U.S. Army's Shadow, announced that the Shadow surpassed 100,000 flight hours in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, with an average of seven or eight Shadow aircraft flying simultaneously every hour, day and night. Athena supplies the Shadow's GuideStar-211e flight controls, or "ACE-II," as AAI calls the solution. The ACE-II system includes a Selective Availability/Anti-Spoofing Module (SAASM), which enhances battlefield utility.
Athena develops control and navigation solutions for a wide range of unmanned vehicles, from Tactical UASs, to Combat UASs, ducted fan UASs, target drones, helicopters, and missiles.
Athena's GuideStar products range in size, weight, and capabilities, designed to accommodate different UAS vehicle characteristics, while 90 percent of the core technology is reused in each UAS program. The reuse of the technology is enabling the industry to standardize on flight control and navigation systems and customers to benefit from the GuideStar's years of field-proven performance and tens of thousands of flight hours.
