Defense Holdings' HiPerCon Team to Move Metal Fiber Brush Technology from Nuclear Submarines into Other Military and Commercial Application

Defense Holdings' HiPerCon Team to Move Metal Fiber Brush Technology from Nuclear Submarines into Other Military and Commercial Application

Arlington, VA (April 8, 2009) – Defense Holdings, Inc® (DHi) and HiPerCon, LLC® of Charlottesville, VA have been cited by the U.S. Air Force as an “SBIR Success Story” for having teamed to extend the use of their revolutionary, patented Metal Fiber Brush (MFB) technology from use in U.S. Navy nuclear submarines to solve a pressing Air Force maintenance problem.

The Air Force needed an improved alternative to the use of carbon brushes in propeller de-icing systems in the C-130 aircraft fleet. DHi and HiPerCon had developed and patented Metal Fiber Brushes (MFBs). MFBs, which gain their name from the fact that they are constructed of thousands of hair-fine silver alloy fibers running on their tips, offer significant improvement over carbon brushes in both data and current transfer, offering extended brush and slip ring service life, high current capacity, and significant decreases in service acoustic and electrical noise. Our silver alloy fibers offer significantly better service life and higher speeds over gold wire technology at a considerable price advantage. MFB technology was originally developed under the Small Business Independent Research (SBIR) program working with HiPerCon, LLC, the U.S. Navy and the University of Virginia. MFBs are now being backfitted to the Navy’s fleet of nuclear submarines.

Metal Fiber Brushes for Propeller De-Icing Systems

Marcel Piet, DHi’s Vice President for Product Research and Development, states “Defense Holdings is very pleased to have been named an Air Force ‘SBIR Success Story,’ particularly after having been named a U.S. Navy ‘SBIR Success Story’ back in 2005 when we were known as Noesis, Inc. The thing that pleases us most is being able to solve really challenging problems for our Warfighters.”

DHi and HiPerCon have already proven that our patented MFBs can operate under high runout conditions in excess of 50mils while under electrical loading and in the presence of industrial contaminates. Success of DHi’s program has proven that its MFBs can deliver a reliability improvement across a range of operating conditions ranging from controlled environments to harsh environments where carbon brushes increasingly fail. DHi and HiPerCon have developed the technology, have pioneered the MFB market, and are presently the largest supplier of these types of Metal Fiber Brushes in the world.

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 Manassas, VA, and production facilities in Trenton, NC.

HiPerCon, LLC is also a service-disabled, veteran-owned, small business with headquarters in Charlottesville, VA.

DHi and HiPerCon share co-located research facilities in Charlottesville, VA. Both companies work with Government agencies, universities and industry to put timely new technologies into the private and public marketplace.