Aviation Specialties Unlimted-
Night Vision Solutions that Save Lives
ASU Inc – History
With a 43-year career in the night vision industry, serving in the US Army, as well as flying for other helicopter organizations, Mike Atwood founded Aviation Specialties Unlimited Inc (ASU) in 1995 in Boise Idaho. It was with ASU that his unique contribution to the industry was realized. Mike introduced night vision goggles (NVG) and their safe operation to civilian Emergency Medical Services (EMS) personnel worldwide.
ASU’s persistence resulted with the first Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approval for use of night vision goggles (NVG) by EMS personnel in 1999. Since that time, the equipment and training provided by ASU has created enormous benefits for ordinary individuals through an estimated 4.2 million successful and life-saving EMS flights between accident/disaster locations and hospitals over most of the world.
Since founding ASU, Atwood created ground-breaking work by developing a night vision goggle pilot training school at ASU, which has trained more than 6,000 pilots and crew. All ASU Night Vision Training flight instructors have extensive civil and military NVG flight experience, a rarity in the training industry. ASU’s instructors have flown NVGs in nearly every environment on earth, from the Arctic to the equator, mountainous to open ocean, desert to jungle, rural farmland to most major U.S. cities (and many international cities), and nearly everything in between.
In addition to training solutions for civilians, Atwood continued to create innovative, new night vision goggles and modified dashboards in cockpits. More than 1,500 aircraft have been modified by ASU for night vision goggle operation as well as selling and distributing over 17,000 night vision goggles worldwide.
Today, with over 28 years of continued success, ASU focuses on new business development, sales and new product development while expanding our network of operators, technical resources, regulatory bodies, suppliers, and manufacturers worldwide. Mike has made ASU a world leader in aviation night vision solutions.
Federal Contracting History
Over the years ASU has competed and won several federal contracts to include multi-year Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) night vision flight training contracts. ASU also had immediate business success selling NVGs via a US General Service Administration (GSA) vehicle. Between 2000 and 2018, spanning the OIF (Operation Iraqi Freedom) and OEF (Operation Enduring Freedom) conflicts, ASU averaged $1.8M in sales each year using this specific contract vehicle.
Beginning in 2018, ASU began utilizing the Tailored Logistic Service (TLS) contract through the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA). During this particular 5-year span, the TLS contract vehicle produced over $10M in DoD and Federal sales for ASU. In 2019, the ASU strategy focused on DoD Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contracts, resulting in winning a SBIR (Phase 2) $1.5M contract, delivering aviation-wide field of view night vision goggle prototypes for US Special Forces aircrews.
Winning our 2022 DoD Contract
In 2022, ASU was named among 10 companies to receive DoD funding from a new pilot program to Accelerate the Procurement and Fielding of Innovative Technologies (APFIT). ASU was awarded $10M dollars to produce the next-generation, lightweight wide field of view night vision goggles for US Special Operations Aircrews. The purpose of the APFIT pilot program is to expeditiously transition technologies – with priority given to those developed by small businesses and/or nontraditional defense contractors – from pilot programs, prototype projects, and research projects into production. The benefit of this pilot program is to deliver war-winning capability earlier than scheduled while contributing to the viability of small business and nontraditional defense contractors.
Keys to Federal Contracting Success
Among a variety of keys to success, ASU credits putting the right team together to be able to serve the needs of the federal government. ASU’s team has secured the right expertise, partners and suppliers to win DoD contracts and other federal business. Successful federal contracting includes knowing your customer, their requirements (in advance), and their budget cycles. Going in blind will equate to unfavorable results and chasing opportunities from behind.
For a small business, this process may be challenging, but not impossible. There are a variety of no-cost services provided by organizations that can guide you on how to navigate selling and working with government agencies. The Idaho Apex Accelerator is an excellent place to start.