Fortress Mesh Points Added to Coveted DoD Unified Capabilities Approved Products List

WESTFORD, MA--(Marketwire - Apr 11, 2011) - Fortress Technologies, the leader in secure tactical wireless communications, today announced that its ES520 Deployable Mesh Point and ES210 Tactical Portable Mesh Point have been added to the Department of Defense (DoD) Unified Capabilities Approved Products List (UC-APL), establishing it as an approved technology for use across the DoD. The ES520 was the first fully rugged, tactical wireless solution suitable for outdoor use included on the Army's Information Assurance (IA) APL in 2009, and this addition, now with full mesh capabilities, in conjunction with the ES210, the very first portable wireless device to be approved, is a milestone achievement.

"Fortress is the only vendor primarily focused on secure outdoor wireless mesh networking for government applications and our mesh points are the industry's premier solutions for in-theater network communications," said Richard Condon, CEO of Fortress. "We are proud of this achievement and will continue to invest in our military grade, field deployable, secure solutions for tactical mobile wireless networks."

As a result of this wide-reaching certification, the Fortress ES520 and ES210 are now approved for procurement across the entire DoD. The purpose of the DoD UC-APL is to maintain a single consolidated list of approved products that have completed Interoperability (IO) and Information Assurance (IA) certification, and represents the only approved equipment for use in DoD networks. Initiatives across the DoD to reduce costs and create greater efficiencies through the use of COTS products enhanced with robust security are dependent on the UC-APL program. UC-APL certification ensures that deployed systems interoperate securely in-theater and support global net-centric warfighting capabilities.

The ES520 is an "all-in-one" network access device that combines the features of a wireless access point, mesh bridge, Ethernet switch and FIPS 140-2 validated AES encryption in a small, rugged, rapidly deployable form factor. The ES520 is currently the core component of the Army's largest wireless mesh network deployed around the globe.

The ES210 extends the rapidly deployable network to the individual and is designed for use by dismounted warfighters, as well as to provide reach as a network extension relay point that allows the network to go beyond the fixed infrastructure on demand. The ES210 ensures high performance networking under highly mobile conditions, allowing individuals and assets to move within the network and to seamlessly leave and join the network.

About Fortress Technologies
With over 65,000 systems currently deployed and serving as the infrastructure backbone of the largest Department of Defense (DoD) wireless mesh network, Fortress Technologies is the established leader in secure tactical wireless communications. Fortress delivers the most advanced solutions for deployable secure wireless mesh networks, designed specifically for highly mobile and rugged outdoor, tactical military and secure government environments. Leveraging a self forming, self healing, path-optimizing meshing protocol, Fortress' products incorporate government grade security algorithms and meet stringent environmental standards.

Based on standard wireless technology uniquely enhanced for DoD requirements, Fortress' COTS+ solutions are purpose built for inclusion into standard or tailored in-theater communications systems. Fortress' secure wireless networking products and embedded solutions for government markets are intended for easy integration and technical insertion, enabling partners and customers to meet their most challenging wireless communications needs. For more information, visit www.fortresstech.com.