Global Digital Solutions, Inc. and Planned Merger Partner Airtronic
USA, Inc. Release Photograph Showing Airtronic's Rocket Propelled
Launcher (RPG-7) In Use By The Peruvian Army and Announce
Airtronic's Second-Generation RPG, the Breakthrough, Lightweight MK
777 Launcher
PALM BEACH, Fla., Aug. 5, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Global Digital
Solutions (PINKSHEETS:GDSI), a company that is positioning itself
as a leader in providing small arms manufacturing, knowledge-based
and culturally attuned social consulting combined with
complementary security and technology-related solutions in
unsettled areas, today released a photograph showing the
RPG-7(USA) – manufactured by
planned merger partner Airtronic USA, Inc. ("Airtronic") – in use by the
Peruvian Army.
(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130805/SF58347)
The companies also announced that Airtronic's second-generation
RPG – the breakthrough, lightweight MK 777 – is expected to be
ready for shipping in the second quarter of 2014.
The Airtronic RPG-7 (see accompanying photograph) weighs 14.9
pounds, has an aluminum trigger group to reduce weight, and is
compatible with all RPG-7 rounds currently available. Unlike every
other RPG manufactured in the world, Airtronic's RPG-7 is machined
from a tube of ordnance grade barrel steel, allowing it to fire
1,000 shots. All other RPG tubes are manufactured from castings, a
small number of which will have voids that can cause the tubes to
explode with potentially deadly consequences for operators.
The Airtronic RPG-7 comes with a Picatinny rail system which
allows the end user to upgrade the optics. In the accompanying Peru
Army photograph, the operators have attached an Eotech sight to the
Picatinny rail. Airtronic is currently delivering RPG-7 weapon
systems to friendly foreign militaries.
Airtronic's second-generation RPG – currently in final testing –
is the lightweight, effective and affordable MK 777. This
breakthrough weapon has the exact same form factor as the RPG-7 and
uses the same aluminum trigger group. However, the MK 777 is made
from a steel liner with a carbon composite wrap. This new
material reduces the weight by half – to 7.77 pounds – hence
the MK 777 name. The MK 777 is also compatible with all existing
RPG-7 rounds and has a Picatinny rail system for mounting
upgraded optics. The company expects to begin shipping the MK 777
in the second quarter of 2014.
"This photograph is indicative of Airtronic's long-standing
relationships with selected militaries around the world," said GDSI
founder and largest shareholder Richard J.
Sullivan, who will become Chairman and CEO after the
acquisition with Airtronic is completed. "As I commented in May
when we announced a substantial Airtronic contract and again in
June when we announced an OEM relationship and new purchase order,
Airtronic has a strong track record of meeting critical customer
needs for quality weapons-related products. And that's true with
regard to the U.S. Department of Defense, various law enforcement
agencies and several international military organizations."
On May 30, 2013, GDSI and
Airtronic announced the first in what is expected to be a series of
contracts involving the company's core business products. On
June 24, 2013, the two companies
announced that Airtronic agreed to become an OEM supplier to a
major international defense contractor for the Airtronic family of
M203 grenade launchers and received the first of many expected
orders for M203 grenade launchers.
"An RPG-7 from Europe or
Asia weighs about nine or ten
pounds more than the MK 777," said Dr. Merriellyn Kett, Airtronic's
President and CEO who is expected to continue serving as CEO after
the merger between GDSI and Airtronic is finalized. "At
tradeshows soldiers often tell me that I could never imagine
the difference ten pounds makes when they have to cover ten
kilometers on foot fast over difficult terrain. I always tell them
that we can imagine the advantage of a lightweight weapon and
that's exactly why Airtronic developed the MK 777."
On or about August 13, 2012, GDSI
and Airtronic announced that they had signed a letter of intent to
enter into good faith discussions involving a potential strategic
combination in which Airtronic would be acquired by GDSI. Having
completed those good faith discussions, the companies signed a
merger agreement on or about October 22,
2012. The companies are working together to file an Amended
Plan of Reorganization ("Plan"). If confirmed, the Plan will allow
Airtronic to emerge from chapter 11 bankruptcy with adequate
working capital.
More About Richard J. Sullivan
Dick Sullivan is an
entrepreneurial pioneer. In 2001, Sullivan received the
prestigious World Economic Forum's "Award for Advanced Chip
Technology" presented in Davos,
Switzerland. He served as Chairman and CEO of Applied
Digital Solutions, where he executed a technology rollup involving
42 acquisitions that succeeded in increasing the company's share
price from $2.50 to a peak of
$18 per share. During Sullivan's
decade-long tenure as Chairman and CEO, Applied Digital was one of
the highest volume traded stocks on NASDAQ. Sullivan also served as
Chairman and CEO of Digital Angel Corporation and led the effort to
spin off VeriChip Corporation. In 1970, he was a founding member of
the management team of Manufacturing Data Systems, Inc., which
listed at $7.50 per share and was
sold to Schlumberger N.V. in 1980 at $65 per share.
More About Merriellyn Kett, PhD
Airtronic's CEO and President joined the company in 2003 as
a partner and helped to refocus the business on several essential
battlefield weapons, including the M203 40mm Grenade Launcher – one
of the most widely used grenade launchers in the world – the .50
cal. Machine Gun, the MK 19 Grenade Machine Gun, and most recently
the MK 777, a shoulder-fired recoilless weapon that is light,
lethal, and affordable. Dr. Kett received her doctorate in analytic
philosophy from DePaul University in
Chicago, IL, and spent a year
studying at the Sorbonne in Paris,
France. Before joining Airtronic in 2003, she worked in
infrastructure development in China, building a metallurgical coking plant
in Shanxi Province.
About Global Digital Solutions, Inc.
Global Digital Solutions is refocusing its business
strategy on providing small arms manufacturing, knowledge-based and
culturally attuned social consulting combined with complementary
security and technology-related solutions in unsettled areas. For
more information please visit http://www.gdsi.co.
About Airtronic USA,
Inc.
Airtronic is an electro-mechanical engineering design and
manufacturing company. The largest woman-owned small arms
manufacturer in the United States,
Airtronic provides small arms and small arms spare parts to the
U.S. Department of Defense, foreign militaries and the law
enforcement market. The company also manufactures medical, avionics
and telecommunications original equipment. The company's products
include grenade launchers, rocket propelled grenade launchers,
grenade launcher guns, flex machine guns, grenade machine guns,
rifles, and magazines. Founded in 1990, the company is based in
Elk Grove Village, Illinois.
On May 16, 2012, the voluntary
petition of Airtronic, Inc. for liquidation under Chapter 7 was
converted to Chapter 11 reorganization. The company had filed for
Chapter 7 bankruptcy on March 13,
2012. For more information, please visit
www.Airtronic.net.
Statements about the company's expectations, including revenue
and earnings and all other statements in this press release, other
than historical facts, are "forward looking" statements and are
made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward looking
statements involve risks and uncertainties and are subject to
change at any time. The company's actual results could differ
materially from expected results. In reflecting subsequent events
or circumstances, the company undertakes no obligation to update
forward looking statements.
Contact:
William J. Delgado
916-838-8833
info@gdsi.co
Richard J. Sullivan
916-535-1713
info@gdsi.co
SOURCE Global Digital Solutions, Inc.