U.S. Army Receives Shipment of Advanced New Landmine Detectors; Only Handheld Detection System to Identify Metal and Non-Metal Mines in All Terrain.

Business Editors

WALTHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 13, 2003

CyTerra Corporation announced today that it has delivered 210 units of its advanced, new handheld landmine detection system to the U.S. Army. It is expected that Army Engineer units deployed to Southwest Asia will be among the first soldiers to use the new device to locate anti-personnel and anti-tank mines.

The detector, known as the Handheld Standoff Mine Detection System or HSTAMIDS, is the only system that can find both metallic and non-metallic mines, including the wood and plastic-cased explosives that caused a number of U.S. injuries and one fatality during Operation Enduring Freedom. Landmines have led to significant casualties in Afghanistan. Some estimate that there are up to 10 million landmines buried in Iraq.

What makes HSTAMIDS uniquely successful is that it employs both ground penetrating radar (GPR) and enhanced metal detection technology to quickly and accurately identify all types of anti-tank and anti-personnel mines in all terrain.

"We designed this system with one thing in mind: save lives," said CyTerra CEO David Fine. "We can accomplish that by putting in the hands of our troops a detector that does a better job of finding all types of mines, regardless of the terrain. As proud as we are about our system we are equally proud of our partnership with the Army, which has worked so aggressively to develop this breakthrough mine clearing technology. Developing such an advanced system is only possible with funding, support and leadership from the U.S. Army countermine program at Ft. Belvoir."

"Mine detection is one of the riskiest procedures in the military," said Larry Nee, Chief of the Countermine Division (Program Manager-Close Combat Systems). "This technology significantly improves the speed and safety of mine clearance operations for U.S. soldiers. The accelerated deployment of CyTerra's system means that we will be able to provide our ground troops with the most sophisticated equipment available today."

The CyTerra detector was developed under the Army's Handheld Standoff Mine Detection System (HSTAMIDS) program. It will be used in conjunction with other mine clearing tools, such as heavy equipment fitted with special plows and the strategic use of counter explosives.

At a weight of less than nine pounds the CyTerra detector allows soldiers to easily operate the system while clearing minefields. It also folds up into a compact package for travel. The Army has shown that the CyTerra detector is capable of detecting close to 100% of all mines in all terrain, with a minimum of false alarms.

The production and delivery of the units are part of a $5.6 million Army contract signed last year. The contract also calls for CyTerra to provide training and maintenance on the detectors over the next three years. The Army awarded an initial $12.3 million contract to CyTerra in the winter of 2001 for the final engineering and manufacturing phase of the landmine detector.

CyTerra Corporation is an employee-owned company founded in July 2000 to focus on the development and production of technology solutions to help combat terrorism. The company is based in Orlando, Florida and Waltham, Massachusetts. The experienced team of scientists and engineers at CyTerra has developed and are working on a number of other advanced security solutions, including explosive detection systems for airport security, GPS-based tracking and emergency signaling systems for public safety, and bio-terrorism detection and mitigation systems.