American Technology Corporation's Long Range Acoustic Device --LRAD -- Supports Armed Services and Homeland Security Initiatives.

Business Editors

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 17, 2004

LRAD(TM) Expected to Play Key Role in Low Intensity Conflicts

and Military Operations Other than War 

American Technology Corporation (ATC) (Nasdaq:ATCO) announced today that its Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD(TM)) is becoming increasingly sought after by military and government agencies because of its ability to be highly directional while effectively transmitting both voice and tone over long distances.

ATC's proprietary and patent-pending LRAD is a highly directional long range hailing and warning device that communicates clearly in a narrow beam at greater than 500 yards over water and 300 yards over land. LRAD supports the efforts of the armed services and Homeland Security agencies to defuse potentially hostile or dangerous situations by communicating voice instructions, plus reinforcing them and influencing behavior with a highly irritating warning tone. LRADs are being employed to determine the intent of an individual or individuals approaching members of the armed forces and the installations, assets or vehicles guarded/operated by them.

LRAD is safe when used properly, to both those in the beam and the operator. LRAD has been evaluated by an independent test lab, field tested, with operational practice set to perform within the guidelines of National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH, http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/98-126a.html, and scroll down to Table 1-1) for combined noise exposure source levels and durations. It has been erroneously reported in some media that LRAD can produce 145dB at 300 yards. At 300 yards, LRAD's highest sustained source level, the warning tone, is 105dB (or about the same level as stereo headphones at high volume). Verbal messages have a lower dB level based on the acoustic characteristics of the device. The oscillating and piercing LRAD warning tone is designed to be very annoying (similar to the effect of a very loud smoke detector).

LRAD's source level is scalable for different situations through the use of a volume control dial. It is electronically limited to 120 dB at 1 meter from the device in normal operations (about the intensity of a police car siren), with an override key to allow higher dB levels (up to 146 dB sustained at 1 meter from the device, or about the source level intensity of an air raid siren). The higher intensity may be needed for longer ranges and high ambient noise situations as decided by the commander in the field.

Carl Gruenler, ATC's vice president of military and government operations, remarked, "LRAD puts distance between a potential threat and our troops that hopefully will save lives on both sides of the device. LRAD provides a means to more safely address the difficult missions of waterside force protection against small boat threats (supporting the effort to prevent another USS Cole-type attack that killed 17 sailors and took a billion-dollar warship out of service for over a year at an enormous repair cost), crowd control, area denial of personnel including check point operations, and clearing buildings."

Gruenler concluded, "The new warfighter/peackeeper role for our troops is dangerous. Our service men and women cannot be expected to defuse tense human situations and minimize injury or loss of life without the ability to clearly communicate, effectively and with authority, at safe distances. We believe LRAD provides the enhanced capability needed in situations where we put our service men and women at risk in keeping and winning the peace in low intensity conflicts and military operations other than war."

For more information on LRAD, go to: http://www.atcsd.com/pdf/LRAD.pdf

About American Technology Corporation

American Technology Corporation is Shaping the Future of Sound(R) by developing and licensing its technology and intellectual property portfolio which includes: the award-winning HSS(R) (HyperSonic(R) Sound Technology); NeoPlanar(R) Technology; LRAD(TM) (Long Range Acoustic Device); HIDA(TM) (High Intensity Directed Acoustics), PureBass(R) Sub-Woofer Technology; and Stratified Field(R) Technology (SFT(R)). The Company is establishing a strong portfolio of patents, trademarks and intellectual property including over 140 U.S. and foreign patents and patent filings to date. For more information on the company and its technologies and products please visit our web site at www.atcsd.com.

Safe Harbor statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Except for historical information contained herein, the matters discussed are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act. You should not place undue reliance on these statements. We base these statements on particular assumptions that we have made in light of our industry experience, the stage of product and market development as well as our perception of historical trends, current market conditions, current economic data, expected future developments and other factors that we believe are appropriate under the circumstances. These statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those suggested in the forward-looking statements, including but not limited to changes in the sound reproduction industry, our ability to develop future products, technology shifts, potential technical or manufacturing difficulties that could delay products, competition, pricing pressures, the uncertainty of market acceptance of new products and services by customers, warranty or other claims, the outcome of pending or future litigation, general economic factors and other risks identified and discussed in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These forward-looking statements are based on information and management's expectations as of the date hereof. Future results may differ materially from the Company's current expectations. American Technology Corporation disclaims any intent or obligation to update those forward-looking statements, except as otherwise specifically stated.

Editors Note: LRAD is a trademark of American Technology Corporation.