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Communications & Power Industries Collaborates With SAIC to Develop Terahertz Frequency Vacuum Electron Devices for DARPA

Posted on: Wednesday, 6 May 2009, 14:23 CDT

PALO ALTO, Calif., May 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Communications & Power Industries, Inc. (CPI) is a member of the research and development team selected as a subcontractor by Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) to support the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) multi-phase program to develop vacuum electron devices capable of operating at frequencies of up to one terahertz. DARPA has awarded a prime contract to SAIC potentially worth up to $11 million for fundamental research and development of this cutting-edge technology. If all contract options are exercised, CPI will receive more than $5 million for its work on the program. CPI, a subsidiary of CPI International, Inc. (Nasdaq: CPII), is a leading provider of microwave, radio frequency, power and control solutions for critical defense, communications, medical, scientific and other applications.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060426/CPILOGO)

The research and development team is led by SAIC (NYSE: SAI), and, in addition to CPI, includes the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), the University of Wisconsin, the University of Virginia, BeamWave Research Inc. and Lexam Research. CPI's Communications & Medical Products Division and Microwave Power Products Division will work on the program through mid-fiscal 2013 if all contract options are exercised.

"CPI is proud to join this collaboration of industry and scientific leaders and to contribute the expertise and pioneering technology we have developed in our more than six decades of developing and manufacturing high-power, high-frequency vacuum electron devices," said Joe Caldarelli, chief executive officer of CPI. "Like DARPA, we have a long history of pushing technological boundaries, and we believe this research into terahertz frequency vacuum electron devices will provide important advances for a number of technological applications across a variety of industries."

The team will work to break new ground in developing innovative, beyond state-of-the art vacuum electron devices. DARPA has tasked the team to develop vacuum electronics capable of operating at a frequency of up to one terahertz, which is many times the frequency of a "typical" vacuum electron device; "typical" vacuum electron devices operate at frequencies below 300 gigahertz. One terahertz is equal to 1,000 gigahertz or one trillion hertz (cycles per second).

About CPI International, Inc.

CPI International, Inc., headquartered in Palo Alto, California, is the parent company of Communications & Power Industries, Inc., a leading provider of microwave, radio frequency, power and control solutions for critical defense, communications, medical, scientific and other applications. Communications & Power Industries, Inc. develops, manufactures and distributes products used to generate, amplify, transmit and receive high-power/high-frequency microwave and radio frequency signals and/or provide power and control for various applications. End-use applications of these systems include the transmission of radar signals for navigation and location; transmission of deception signals for electronic countermeasures; transmission and amplification of voice, data and video signals for broadcasting, Internet and other types of commercial and military communications; providing power and control for medical diagnostic imaging; and generating microwave energy for radiation therapy in the treatment of cancer and for various industrial and scientific applications.

Certain statements included above constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements provide our current expectations, beliefs or forecasts of future events. Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual events or results to differ materially from the results projected, expected or implied by these forward-looking statements. These factors include, but are not limited to, competition in our end markets; the impact of a general slowdown in the global economy; our significant amount of debt; changes or reductions in the U.S. defense budget; currency fluctuations; U.S. government contracts laws and regulations; changes in technology; the impact of unexpected costs; and inability to obtain raw materials and components. These and other risks are described in more detail in our periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. As a result of these uncertainties, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. All future written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to us or any person acting on our behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements contained or referred to in this section. New risks and uncertainties arise from time to time, and it is impossible for us to predict these events or how they may affect us. We undertake no duty or obligation to publicly revise any forward-looking statement to reflect circumstances or events occurring after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events or changes in our expectations.

SOURCE CPI International, Inc.

Source: PR Newswire

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