(PRWEB) June 14, 2006 –- Atair Aerospace (Atair) will exhibit its inventive Onyx(TM) precision guided parachute systems and LEAPP(TM) powered paraglider UAV technologies at the 2006 International Special Operations Forces Week in Tampa, Fla., June 20-22.

Onyx systems are autonomously guided parafoil systems (UAV gliders) 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. 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 the world to successfully develop autonomous agent swarming UAVs.

Atair will offer a glimpse of its long endurance autonomous powered paraglider (LEAPP) UAV technologies with the debut of its Micro LEAPP ISR UAV. Micro LEAPP is a light-weight, small-scale version of Atair’s DARPA-funded LEAPP UAV. Micro LEAPP is designed for special operations intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) missions. Micro LEAPP can operate fully autonomously or be piloted by remote control via a portable base station computer and advanced software which allows continuous tracking, mission and flight planning, video and data downlink. Micro LEAPP is one-man deployable and transportable using a backpack. Mission critical features of Micro LEAPP include four (4) hours of flight time and payload capacity for 20 lbs of surveillance equipment. Atair’s DAPRA-funded full-scale LEAPP UAV, which is designed for loitering surveillance missions of over 48 hours aloft, utilizes the largest elliptical paraglider wing ever built—the wing span is over 112 ft with an aspect ratio of 6:1. LEAPP flight tests are scheduled to begin in Sept. 2006.

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 by email or visit the Atair Aerospace website at www.atairaerospace.com.

Atair Aerospace will be available for questions at Booth #1511 during Special Operations Forces Week 2006.