Lightning Gunner Scores New Army Contract; Never Mind the Lawsuit

**Holy ray guns! Troubled Tuscon-based lightning weapons maker Applied Energetics, formerly known as Ionatron, has received another military contract, this time from the Army, for $4.5 million. Here's a snippet from the company's press release:

*“We thank the Army for their efforts and assistance in moving this program forward. This contract, which is funded through the Army’s RDT&E [research, development, test, and evaluation] budget, signifies the commitment by the Army to complete the core technology development for LGE [Laser Guided Energy], and will bring us to the follow-on phases of demonstration system engineering.” *

*Laser Guided Energy is a transformational weapon technology by which a controllable high voltage electric charge can be precisely guided by a laser through the atmosphere to induce a range of controllable effects against a variety of potential military and security targets. LGE has been a central proprietary technology for Applied Energetics since the company was founded in 2002. The company has over thirty patent filings relating to the technology and its applications, with four patents awarded and twenty nine patent applications in process. *

*Mr. Ben Lagasca, Chief of the Advanced Energy Armaments Division at U.S. Army ARDEC[Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center]**, remarked on the award: “The U.S. Army has followed the development of LGE for the past 4 years. Now that the technology is approaching a level of maturity needed to consider weaponization we will be more closely coordinated with Applied Energetics through this contract to bring the technology to full maturity to fulfill Army mission needs.” *

Is this good news for Applied Energetics? Well, it's certainly not bad news, but RDT&E is just that: research. At some point, the company has to sell something. In the meantime, the company continues to be true to form, reports The Motley Fool:

During its years as Ionatron, the company was seemingly active in promoting itself through business news and press releases. At times, it has been involved in transactions that might have disproportionately benefited insiders. In February, for example, it spent $2.2 million to purchase property it formerly leased from family members of the company's founder and other insiders. With Applied Energetics' stock beaten down, investors should use caution if they think the company's dealings look too good to be true.

Purchased property from "family members of the company's founder?" I completely missed that. Well, let's just add that to the list, along with the shareholder lawsuit, SEC allegations of insider training, and well, click on the list below for more.....

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