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DIGITAL ANGEL CORPORATION OUTERLINK SUBSIDIARY HONORED BY
NATIONAL HELICOPTER GROUP FOR IN-FLIGHT COMMUNICATION SYSTEM
System Transmits Key Helicopter Performance Data to
Help Ensure Safety of Military Helicopters in Flight
SO.
ST. PAUL, MN (May 11, 2006) … Digital Angel Corporation (Amex:DOC), an
advanced technology company in the field of rapid and accurate
identification, location tracking, and condition monitoring of high-value
assets, announced today that its OuterLink subsidiary was honored this
week by the American Helicopter Society (AHS) for OuterLink’s In-Flight
Reporting System, a real-time, satellite-based data communications system
being used by the U.S. Navy to help ensure the safety of its pilots, among
other attributes.
OuterLink was part of a team that received the
prestigious Harry T. Jensen Award for 2005 at a ceremony Wednesday for
creating a monitoring system for the U.S. military that records the
mechanical performance of a helicopter, including its engine, rotors,
driveshaft and other mechanical parts, and transmits that information to
ground officials while the aircraft is in flight.
The OuterLink
In-Flight Reporting System is the communication link that transmits the
mechanical data by satellite to the flight operations center so military
officials can track how the helicopter is performing in the air and, if
necessary, immediately ground the aircraft before any catastrophic event.
The AHS noted that the overall system “added far-reaching capabilities to
military health and usage monitoring systems.”
Paul F. Newcomb,
President of OuterLink Corporation, said the In-Flight system is currently
being used by commercial helicopters and fixed wing aircraft for tracking
and flight following, but this is the first time it has been integrated
into a mechanical monitoring system. The monitoring system is currently
being used by the U.S. Navy on its SH-60B helicopters and the potential
exists for implanting it on a fleet-wide basis throughout the military,
Newcomb added.
“This system has significant added value potential,”
Newcomb said. “It is an important monitoring system for several reasons
and certainly in terms of safety while in flight. But there is also an
economic payback in maintenance. It enables flight operations to monitor
the performance of the aircraft and determine when proper maintenance
should occur, not just base that decision on hours in the
air.”
Newcomb added that four Navy helicopters have sent more than
5 megabytes of data—representing 89,426 satellite messages—through the
OuterLink system in the past month alone.
Other members of the
team that created the system included Draper Laboratories, the systems
integrator and Goodrich Aerospace, the supplier of the aircraft’s
mechanical monitoring system.
About OuterLink
Based in
Lowell, MA, OuterLink, a Digital Angel subsidiary, provides
satellite-based mobile asset tracking and data messaging systems. Used to
manage the deployment of aircraft and land vehicles, these systems provide
real-time location reporting, secure bi-directional data communication and
comprehensive asset management software. They enable ground personnel to
track the minute-by-minute movement of mobile assets, monitor on-board
sensors and conduct bi-directional messaging with aircraft pilots and
ground vehicle operators. For more information, visit http://www.outerlink.com/.
About Digital
Angel Corporation
Digital Angel Corporation 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 humans, pets, fish, poultry and livestock 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. (Nasdaq:ADSX). For more information about Digital
Angel, please visit http://www.digitalangelcorp.com/.
The statements in this press release that are not strictly
historical, are "forward-looking" statements within the meaning of Section
27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934 and are intended to be covered by the safe harbors
created by these sections. The forward-looking statements are subject to
risks and uncertainties and the actual results that the Company achieves
may differ materially from these forward-looking statements due to such
risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to; that Applied
Digital Inc. owns 55.4% of the Company's common stock; that new accounting
pronouncements regarding expensing of share based compensation may impact
the Company's future results of operations, the Company may continue to
incur net losses, infringement by third parties on the Company's
intellectual property or development of substantially equivalent
proprietary technology by the Company's competitors could negatively
impact the Company's business, domestic and foreign government regulation
and other factors could impair the Company's ability to develop and sell
its products in certain markets, the Company relies on sales to government
contractors for its animal identification and search and rescue beacon
products, and any decline in the demand by these customers for such
products could negatively affect the Company's business, the Company
depends on a single production arrangement for its patented
syringe-injectable microchips, and the loss of or any significant
reduction in the production could have an adverse effect on the Company's
business, technological change could cause the Company's products to
become obsolete, the loss of one of the Company's principal customers
could negatively impact the Company's net revenue, the Company's earnings
will decline if the Company writes off goodwill and other intangible
assets, options and warrants outstanding and available for issuance may
adversely affect the market price of the Company's common stock, currency
exchange rate fluctuations could have an adverse effect on the Company's
sales and financial results, the Company depends on a small team of senior
management. A detailed statement of risks and uncertainties is contained
in the Company's reports to the Securities and Exchange Commission,
including in particular the Company's Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended
December 31, 2005. Investors and stockholders are urged to read this
document carefully. The Company can offer no assurances that any
projections, assumptions or forecasts made or discussed in this release
will be met, and investors should understand the risks of investing solely
due to such projections. The Company undertakes no obligation to revise
any forward-looking statements in order to reflect events or circumstances
that may arise after the date of this press release.
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