Minerva Engineering Announces Its First Prime Contracting Competitive Win: Processes and Tools for Live/Virtual/Constructive Warfighting Training Simulator

Phoenix, Arizona - February 23, 2005

Minerva Engineering announced today that it has been awarded its first ever Full and Open competitive award as prime contractor to AFRL Human Effectiveness Directorate, Warfighter Readiness Division (AFRL/HEA) in Mesa, AZ. The award for Processes and Tools for Live/Virtual/Constructive Warfighting Training Simulator will provide processes and tools for Live-Virtual-Constructive Warfighter Training while assessing performance in competency-based training and rehearsal situations. These processes and tools shall be used to enhance Distributed Mission Operations (DMO) training.

In addition to providing the key management and administrative functions, Minerva Engineering will be providing integrated, software and systems engineering expertise to design technologies for untethered and high fidelity simulation technologies for the Joint Close Air Support (JCAS) simulation system. The overall objective of the system is to create a JTAC virtual training system that will emulate a Joint Close Air Support tactical combat environment and allow trainees to practice tactics, techniques and procedures (TTPs) used in actual missions. The system shall provide a capability for integration of actual JCAS electronic systems. This contract will also require Minerva Engineering to develop emulators out of its Huntsville, AL Rapid Prototyping and Integration Facility.

"This win was a large psychological boost for us in that it was a competitive award on a full and open RFP for the government and reflects the confidence that AFRL/HEA has in us based on our previous work with them" reported Don Holmes, CEO and Manager of Minerva Engineering's Space and Communications System Group. "We've been wanting to work with AFRL for quite some time and our first sole-source award coming last fall gave us the necessary domain knowledge and focus to make winning this contract a possibility".

Mr. Holmes also added that "this contract is exactly the type of work we've been looking for over the past several years; namely multi-year stability with options that can be exercised based on performance". In addition, Mr. Holmes noted that "our business development and capture teams recognized early on that a key element of this win would be the approach used for the development of JTAC emulators in our Huntsville, AL Rapid Prototype Integration Facility."

Minerva Engineering's Rapid Prototype Integration Facility located in Huntsville, AL is a 4800 square foot facility with office space, engineering lab and high bay for integration of materials and equipment.

Minerva Engineering provides systems engineering, software engineering and electro-mechanical integration and prototyping services for government space systems and C4ISR tactical systems and components. Minerva Engineering is a private company founded in 1997 and maintains its corporate headquarters in Phoenix, Arizona, with offices in Washington DC and Huntsville, AL.