Defense Holdings, Inc. to Provide Program Management Services to the North Carolina Aerospace Alliance Reverse Engineering Program

Arlington, VA (February 24, 2009) — Defense Holdings, Inc® (DHi) announced that it has been awarded a contract from Fayetteville Tech Community College

to provide program management services to establish and manage a reverse engineering (RE) program on behalf of the North Carolina Aerospace Alliance (NCAA) and the North Carolina Military Business Center (NCMBC).

DHi has appointed Mr. Ed Garcia to serve as the Program Manager for the NCAA RE program. The purpose of the RE program will be to assist NC companies developing alternate sources of revenue through becoming approved alternate vendors for a variety of DOD aged aircraft parts. Specifically, this program will look for reverse engineering opportunities within the DOD aged aircraft supply parts programs. Mr. Garcia will assist the NCAA Program with vetting the available lists of DOD aged aircraft parts requirements for parts that meet the program criteria for technical engineering and manufacturing viability as well as economic viability. When he locates parts that match the program criteria, he will assist in the recruitment of NC companies to engage in a RE project that could result in the companies being able to compete for new contracts to supply these aged aircraft parts, when future requirements for these parts are solicited by DOD.

Rich Martin, DHi’s President and CEO, states ”Defense Holdings, Inc is pleased to be able to help the NCAA, the NCMBC and the good people of the State of North Carolina in bringing new business opportunities to the region. DHi has extensive strategic planning expertise in the creation of new or emerging programs and significant program management experience, including having performed a number of highly successful reverse engineering projects for the U.S. Department of Defense. Aging aircraft present a real problem to today’s military. With the oldest fleets in naval service history, the Navy and Marine Corps are adopting new tactics to keep their aircraft flying as they deal with the geriatric condition of their aircraft, which now comprise the oldest aviation fleets in their history. Just as individuals pay more in medical bills as they age, old aircraft become increasingly more costly to keep flying. The problems of the Navy and Marine Corps are not as severe as those of the Air Force, which has an air fleet with an average age of 20+ years, pushed skyward by its KC-135 airborne tankers and B-52 bombers that are approaching 50 years of age. Many of the equipment OEMs are no longer around or have turned to other areas of business. In many cases, replacement parts just aren’t available. This is a great opportunity to bring new business to North Carolina while helping solve a burgeoning national problem.“

Defense Holdings, Inc. (DHi), a service-disabled, veteran-owned, small business, is a technology leader specializing in the defense and homeland security markets. With headquarters in Arlington, VA, research facilities in Charlottesville, VA and production facilities in Trenton, NC, DHi works with Government agencies, universities and industry to put timely new technologies into the hands of those defending our country.