Ionatron Evacuates Facility in the Path of Hurricane Katrina

TUCSON, Ariz., Aug. 31 -- Ionatron Inc., a developer of laser-guided, directed-energy technology for homeland security and other US government applications, today announced that it safely evacuated all of its employees and contractors from its Stennis Space Center facility located on the Gulf Coast in Mississippi, an area hit by Hurricane Katrina.

Ionatron moved into its new production facility at the federally owned space center this year and occupies approximately 50,000 sq. ft. at Stennis. Neither Ionatron's facility nor the JIN (Joint Improvised Explosive Device Neutralizer) units being manufactured there were damaged. The JIN unit is used in anti-terrorism applications to explode bombs, such as car bombs, by sending an electrical charge through the ground.

The company's Stennis facility is temporarily closed and employees and contractors there were advised to evacuate. Ionatron will temporarily move employees and JIN production to its Tucson headquarters until Stennis resumes normal operations and says it doesn't anticipate significant production delays.