Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. has entered a Department of Defense (DoD) Mentor-Protege Agreement with Princeton Microwave Technology Inc. (PmT) of Princeton, New Jersey, and will assist the company as it becomes a supplier of Transmit/Receive Modules for Ball's contract supporting the Geodesic Dome Phased Array Antenna-Advanced Technology Demonstration (GDPAA-ATD).

Since 1991, the DoD Mentor-Protege Program has offered substantial assistance to socio-economic subsets of small businesses. PmT, is a small, woman-owned business. As an approved DoD Mentor, Ball Aerospace will provide services to PmT through the U.S. Air Force Outreach Program Office, specifically for manufacturing and production technology. The DoD program assists small businesses to successfully compete for prime contract and subcontract awards by partnering with large companies under individual, project-based agreements.

"Ball Aerospace has a proven history of using the techniques, products and services of small businesses to provide innovative products," said Rich Auerbach, director of Ball's antenna and video technologies group. "We look forward to helping PmT meet certification requirements that precipitate successful delivery of communications module components to Ball Aerospace."

PmT manufactures oscillators and amplifiers for the military and telecommunications markets. The Mentor-Protege pact will allow Ball Aerospace to assist PmT maximize its in-house production capabilities and effectively manage external fabrication activities.

The GDPAA-ATD is part of a multi-phase activity to upgrade the Air Force Satellite Control Network by replacing large parabolic dish antennas with advanced phased array antennas. This development is designed to greatly improve satellite communication links for the Air Force's network. In January, 2007, Ball Aerospace began work on a $13 million ATD contract to develop and demonstrate technologies required to validate the GDPAA concept.

Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. supports critical missions of important national agencies such as the Department of Defense, NASA, NOAA and other U.S. government and commercial entities. The company develops and manufactures spacecraft, advanced instruments and sensors, components, data exploitation systems and RF solutions for strategic, tactical and scientific applications. Over the past 50 years, Ball Aerospace has been responsible for numerous technological and scientific 'firsts' and acts as a technology innovator for the aerospace market.

Ball Corporation is a supplier of high-quality metal and plastic packaging products for beverage, food and household products customers, and of aerospace and other technologies and services, primarily for the U.S. government. Ball Corporation and its subsidiaries employ more than 15,500 people worldwide and reported 2006 sales of $6.6 billion.

Forward-Looking Statements

This release contains "forward-looking" statements concerning future events and financial performance. Words such as "expects," "anticipates," "estimates" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied. The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Key risks and uncertainties are summarized in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Exhibit 99.2 in our Form 10-K, which are available at our Web site and at http://www.sec.gov/. Factors that might affect our packaging segments include fluctuation in product demand and preferences; availability and cost of raw materials, including recent significant increases in resin, steel, aluminum and energy costs, and the ability to pass such increases on to customers; competitive packaging availability, pricing and substitution; changes in climate and weather; crop yields; competitive activity; failure to achieve anticipated productivity improvements or production cost reductions, including our beverage can end project; mandatory deposit or other restrictive packaging laws; changes in major customer or supplier contracts or loss of a major customer or supplier; and changes in foreign exchange rates, tax rates and activities of foreign subsidiaries. Factors that might affect our aerospace segment include: funding, authorization, availability and returns of government and commercial contracts; and delays, extensions and technical uncertainties affecting segment contracts. Factors that might affect the company as a whole include those listed plus: accounting changes; successful or unsuccessful acquisitions, joint ventures or divestitures; integration of recently acquired businesses; regulatory action or laws including tax, environmental and workplace safety; governmental investigations; technological developments and innovations; goodwill impairment; antitrust, patent and other litigation; strikes; labor cost changes; rates of return projected and earned on assets of the company's defined benefit retirement plans; pension changes; reduced cash flow; interest rates affecting our debt; and changes to unaudited results due to statutory audits or other effects.

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact: rbrown@ball.com

SOURCE: Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp.