Digital Angel Corp. has been selected by the U.S. Air Force to develop a new survival radio for military aircraft. Digital Angel is one of only two companies to win a contract to develop a new radio to replace the URT33, which is carried in aircrew survival packs and sets off a distress signal in an emergency. The URT33 will become obsolete when existing frequencies on 121.5 MHz and 243 MHz cease to be monitored by Cospas-Sarsat on Feb. 1, 2009.

The USAF funded development contract calls for Digital Angel to design, develop and build 20 operational radios within eight months. Following successful trials of the new radio systems, the USAF operational replacement program is expected to seek bids on a contract for approximately 15,000 radios.

The URT33 will be rendered obsolete when the Cospas-Sarsat satellite rescue system is changed to monitor only the 406-MHz frequency in 2009. Cospas-Sarsat is the international satellite system operator that detects activated search and rescue beacons and approves all rescue beacon systems.

SARBE is a major supplier of search and rescue military air crew personal locator beacons and other military rescue beacons for use in the event of an ejection or other event requiring emergency evacuation of an aircraft in a remote, possibly hostile location. Based in Lowell, Mass., OuterLink, a Digital Angel subsidiary, provides satellite-based mobile asset tracking and data messaging systems. Digital Angel Corp. develops and deploys sensor and communications technologies that enable rapid and accurate identification, location tracking and condition monitoring of high-value assets.