ANDERSON — If local businessman Pete Bitar has his way, January 2009’s “Miracle on the Hudson” will be a one-time occurrence.

On Thursday, Bitar was informed his Anderson company, Xtreme Alternative Defense Systems, would receive a contract from the Air Force for its green-laser technology designed to keep birds away from airport runways.

The advancements could help pilots avoid potential disasters caused when birds get sucked into jet engines, Bitar said, such as the case last year when a flight went down in the Hudson River in New York City after hitting a flock of birds.

“It’s on people’s minds and it’s a compelling topic,” Bitar said. “It’s like our technology is solving headline problems. That’s pretty cool to be able to be in that kind of a game.”

XADS has been developing the green-laser technology to scare away birds near airports while maintaining pilot safety. In September, Bitar applied for a Small Business Innovation Research contract with the U.S. Department of Defense, which issued a solicitation for such technology.

In a message to Bitar on Thursday, the Air Force SBIR office said his proposal had been selected as one the Air Force expected to award but that any award was “subject to successful negotiations between our contracting division and your firm and to the availability of funds.”

The contract would be the fourth one awarded to XADS since 2002, when an SBIR contract allowed Bitar to start the company.

“It’s just the step before the contract,” Bitar said. “There’s not really much negotiation. It is a contract, but it’s treated sort of like a grant. The SBIR process does require you to deliver certain things along the way.”

SBIR contracts usually award companies about $100,000 for Phase I, which encompasses concept design. If chosen for a Phase II contract, SBIR would pay up to $750,000 for prototype development, Bitar said.

Indiana’s SBIR program automatically matches SBIR contracts awards to state businesses, giving XADS up to $200,000 to continue its work on the lasers.

“Having the state money come into the mix allows us to build some things and strengthen them,” Bitar said. “Our hope is to get everything operational by this summer.”

In the solicitation for SBIR contract proposals, the Air Force asked for a non-lethal system to deter birds from airports and military bases.

“Every year bird-strikes to aircraft, both military and civilian, cause millions of dollars of damage and in some instances, loss of human life,” the solicitation says. “Additionally, damage in and around facilities and aircraft where birds nest and congregate costs millions of dollars in the man-hours needed for bird prevention and clean-up. A cost-effective system is needed to effectively repel birds away from the areas that could result in aircraft/facility damage.”

Solutions offered by companies were asked to detect birds flying into areas where there was potential for collisions with aircraft and repel them using a non-lethal form of directed energy.

XADS’ solution to the bird problem involves using green lasers to scare away the birds, along with censors and steering mechanisms to shield an airport’s runway area without reflecting into pilots’ eyes.

Bitar said the lasers could be turned on by airport towers or by pilot radio controls. The lasers also could turn on automatically when a bird is detected in the area. The lasers would temporarily impair the birds.

“Birds just kind of freak out for the green lights,” he said. “We’ve done a lot of research over the last three years in terms of the experimentation with birds. They hate green laser light. I steered a whole flock of crows with a small green laser away from the area.

“There are other companies that have talked about green laser products for anti-bird applications, but they’ve never put it all together with airport applications.”

Bitar said the technology first would be used for military purposes before being moved into commercial applications, and he was excited that Anderson Municipal Airport could be the first to use such technology.

The Air Force “really wants to push it toward commercialization as quickly as possible,” Bitar said. “I think they would be ecstatic about us getting it into civilian markets sooner than later.”

Flagship Enterprise Center President Chuck Staley said he couldn’t think of any other Madison County businesses that had been awarded SBIR contracts. Staley regularly encourages Flagship clients to apply for the awards.

“They’re difficult to obtain,” he said. “It requires a lot of work, a lot of persistence. Pete does the well. He has very creative ideas that I think are relevant.”

Contact Aleasha Sandley: 640-4805, aleasha.sandley@heraldbulletin.com.