Mr. Abe Karem, Aeronautics Innovator and Pioneer, is Navigator Award Winner

ARLINGTON, Va., March 20, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Potomac Institute for Policy Studies (www.potomacinstitute.org) is pleased to announce that Mr. Abe Karem, founder of Karem Aircraft and a pioneer in the field of aeronautics, has been named a recipient of a 2012 Navigator Award.  Mr. Karem and fellow awardees will be honored at a banquet at the Willard InterContinental Hotel in Washington, D.C. on Thursday, June 21. 

Mr. Karem has devoted his career to innovative aircraft design and development, including long endurance UAVs and the development of the first helicopter to successfully use a variable speed rotor system. Over more than fifty years in aeronautics, Mr. Karem has repeatedly promoted revolutionary visions for innovation and demonstrated the technical acuity, perseverance, and leadership to realize these dreams.

Regarding the selection of Mr. Karem for a Navigator Award, former Director of Central Intelligence James Woolsey said, "Abe Karem is an extraordinarily inventive man and one of the most remarkable aeronautical engineers of the 20th century.  His successes most famously include the Predator and its predecessor UAVs, Amber, and Gnat 750.  He is a pioneer in his field and he is most deserving of this prestigious award."   

Mr. Karem's experience as an aircraft and system designer began with fixed-wing aeronautics in Israel, where he led major modifications to the Super Mystere and led the Kfir fighter design group.  Mr. Karem subsequently left Israel to found his own company, Leading Systems, Inc. in California. Starting in his own garage, he developed the Albatross UAV family.  After winning a DARPA contract based on the phenomenal record of the Albatross, Mr. Karem developed the Amber UAV system. At a time when UAV endurance rarely exceeded 6 hours, the Amber achieved an impressive 38-hour endurance.

After the sale of Leading Systems, Inc., Mr. Karem became Chief Engineer of General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, and worked to develop the Gnat 750, the Prowler, and the Predator UAV systems.  Later, he founded Frontier Systems and went on to design and develop the A160 Hummingbird, the first helicopter to successfully use a variable speed rotor system. He subsequently founded Karem Aircraft, Inc.

The Potomac Institute for Policy Studies' Navigator Awards are presented to members of Congress and to representatives of the executive branch, industry and academia in recognition of their distinguished contributions in the arena of science and technology.

SOURCE Potomac Institute for Policy Studies