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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 19, 2005

Schumer, Clinton Announce Congressional Panel Backs $1.5 Million For Westchester Defense Projects

Schumer, Clinton: Defense Projects are Vitally Important for the New York Economy and National Security

Washington, DC -- U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer and Hillary Rodham Clinton today announced that the Joint House and Senate Conference Committee approved $1.5 million for military projects in Westchester, including $500,000 for HYPRES, Inc. for All Digital Transceiver (ADT) Development and $1 million for Holographics Optics, Inc. for their Smart Visor project. The House has approved the bill. The bill must also be approved by the Senate before being sent to the President and signed into law.

“This is great news for Westchester," said Schumer. "Additional funds will not only boost the area economy, but also put Westchester and New York State at the forefront of defense technology. As the men and women of our military bravely serve our country all over the world, the funding for these Westchester defense projects will vastly improve national security technology and will give our armed forces an even greater edge."

“Westchester has already proven to the world its leadership in cutting-edge research and technology,” Senator Clinton said. “This new funding will help protect our troops, both at home and abroad, and is an important investment in our local companies and the communities they support.”

$500,000 in federal funds will go to HYPRES, Inc. for All Digital Transceiver (ADT) Development. Conventional approaches in the design and development of communications systems present power consumption difficulties and performance limitations. SME technology has the potential to provide exceptional performance gains above what is currently available with a potential cost savings. The Army Communications - Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center (CERDEC) is currently funding small business research initiatives based on the promise SME provides particularly with respect to the Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) Cluster I program. This technology potentially can address, on a non-interference basis, some of the technical challenges currently being encounter on that program. Further there is substantial reason to believe that successful implementation of SME technology as a technology insertion into the JTRS Cluster I program will save an estimated $250 million. Funding under this request would support the accelerated development and application of this technology to the program and a wide array of other military electronic equipment.

$1 million in federal funds will go to Holographics Optics, Inc. for their Smart Visor project. To better protect aircrew eyes and faces from mission hazards, while improving their mission effectiveness through better integration with sensors, Smart Visor develops a single, integrated system, capable of protecting against all threats that an array of separate, individual visor systems presently provide for pilots. Many laser threats are invisible to our eyes, but can quickly damage them if not protected. The challenge in laser eye protection is to block harmful wavelengths of light, while allowing pass-through of safe light. Pilots provided with an integrated visor protection system will have a distinct tactical advantage over our adversaries in the future.

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