Princeton Junction, NJ – November, 2015 – In late 2015, MISTRAS Group, Inc. (NYSE: MG) acquired AETOS, a leading-edge service provider of unmanned aerial systems (UAS1), robotic crawlers, and submersible inspection solutions. After the acquisition, MISTRAS Group merged AETOS’ complete range of unmanned and robotic inspection solutions into its existing line of nondestructive testing (NDT) services, labeling AETOS the MISTRAS Unmanned Systems Center of Excellence.

AETOS is a well-established provider of state-of-the-art robotic inspection services within the energy, petrochemical, civil, and industrial infrastructure industries. Each UAS and robotic inspection solution provides a comprehensive range of high-resolution imaging options, incorporating digital imaging and video recording devices, as well as infrared, ultraviolet, environmental, multi-spectral, and hyperspectral sensors, providing operators with timely results to detect the early signs of failure and actionable data for the useful life extension of key operating assets.

MISTRAS’ application and use of UAS and robotic inspection technologies offer facility operators unique and beneficial solutions to improve operational health, manage and identify flaws, support crises and catastrophes, oversee construction and repair work, and monitor indoor and outdoor assets. Importantly, many of AETOS’ UAS technologies are capable of performing in-service inspections, allowing clients to continue generating revenue even while their assets are being assessed.

Use of UAS and robotic inspections helps customers reduce downtime, resolve emergencies, and minimize turnaround delays for key operating assets. Designed to provide operators with enhanced flaw detection capabilities to reduce hazards, unmanned systems also help facilities lessen traditional inspection costs and pre-qualify advanced follow-up inspections across a multitude of difficult-to-access locations.

In 2012, AETOS received the first and only airspace approval to use UAS in the petrochemical industry, when they received clearance to research use of UAS technology over a major chemical manufacturing facility. In 2015, AETOS was officially granted Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Section 333 approval, making the company among the first in the industry to receive approval to fly UAS devices in the National Airspace and beyond FAA jurisdiction with the approval of local governing bodies. This awards AETOS the same airspace access that electronic marketplace providers and global delivery services receive to parcel consumer goods and services by way of UAS technology.

1Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS), or “drones,” are remotely piloted aircraft (RPA), as defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).