Frost & Sullivan Recognizes Athena Technologies for Achieving Sustained Growth in the...

PALO ALTO, Calif. -- Based on its recent analysis of the North American aerospace market, Frost & Sullivan has recognized Athena Technologies, Inc. with the 2007 North American Frost & Sullivan Award for Growth Excellence for employing innovative strategies to achieve rapid and exceptional

This Award commends Athena for developing original concepts to deliver the most reliable navigation and guidance systems in the market.

"The key to Athena's success is its unique vision for innovative flight dynamics, which gives it an edge in designing guidance and navigation systems for unmanned aerial systems (UAS)," notes Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst Lindsay Voss. "Athena's products are designed in compact casings that allow the systems to be easily integrated on small, tactical unmanned aircraft."

As a result, Athena has had tremendous growth since its relatively recent entry into the market in 1998, and is today a leading provider of performance flight control technology. Its top-of-the-line first-generation GuideStar[R] product line, launched in 2000, caters to numerous UAS manufacturers and is integrated on a vast number of UAS currently deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The company has recently started expanding its presence overseas by supplying its products to some key foreign markets, including the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, Israel and Pakistan. This strategy has more than paid off with its GuideStar navigation and global positioning system being selected for the largest UAS program in Europe.

A number of factors contribute to Athena's success in the aerospace market, notably its outstanding customer service and proven product reliability. The GuideStar system is a true testament to the dependability of Athena's solutions, providing guidance and navigation capabilities to mission-critical unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that play a critical role in protecting troops on the battlefield.

Enabling customers to have a shorter time-to-market is another crucial aspect of its growth strategy, as this has generated significant new and repeat business. Most importantly, Athena recognizes that future growth depends on continued investment and has been taking several steps in this regard such as increasing research and development expenditure and building new offices.

The company is also enhancing its technological skills and updating its regulatory readiness by investing in new software development tools and CMMI Level III Certification as well as complying with Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) software and hardware procedures.

These success factors will stand Athena Technologies in good stead as it prepares to enter the commercial aircraft market. 2007 is likely to see Athena moving forward with plans to integrate its navigation and guidance systems on manned aircraft with the intention of penetrating newer markets in the future.

"Athena is a prime example of how a small company with a ground-breaking idea can thrive in the highly competitive aerospace market," says Voss. "Frost & Sullivan is pleased to present Athena Technologies with the 2007 North American Frost & Sullivan Award for Growth Excellence in the aerospace market in recognition of its ability to expand upon its technology and take both the company as well as the overall aircraft industry to new heights."

Each year Frost & Sullivan presents this Award to the company that demonstrated excellence in initiating and maintaining growth through unique growth strategies. Through an extensive selection process, Frost & Sullivan has identified a company that has exhibited excellence in all its functional areas, resulting in sustained financial growth.

Frost & Sullivan Best Practices Awards recognize companies in a variety of regional and global markets for demonstrating outstanding achievement and superior performance in areas such as leadership, technological innovation, customer service, and strategic product development. Industry analysts compare market participants and measure performance through in-depth interviews, analysis, and extensive secondary research in order to identify best practices in the industry.

About Athena Technologies, Inc.

Athena Technologies is a premier developer and producer of navigation and control systems. Founded in 1998, the company produces the GuideStar[TM] family of versatile, compact and cost-effective flight control systems for applications such as commercial aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), target drones and missiles. The company is an independent, privately held firm with headquarters in Northern Virginia. Additional information is available at www.athenati.com.

About Frost & Sullivan

Frost & Sullivan, a global growth consulting company, has been partnering with clients to support the development of innovative strategies for more than 40 years. The company's industry expertise integrates growth consulting, growth partnership services, and corporate management training to identify and develop opportunities. Frost & Sullivan serves an extensive clientele that includes Global 1000 companies, emerging companies, and the investment community by providing comprehensive industry coverage that reflects a unique global perspective and combines ongoing analysis of markets, technologies, econometrics, and demographics. For more information, visit www.awards.frost.com.