Digital Angel’s SARBE Unit Receives Upgraded Approval from COSPAS-SARSAT for Its Advanced Aircrew Personal Locator Beacon

Digital Angel (NASDAQ: DIGA), an advanced technology company in the field of animal identification and emergency identification solutions, announced today that its SARBE division has received full COSPAS-SARSAT type approval for its SARBE Advanced Aircrew Personal Locator Beacon (AAPLB).

The AAPLB had previously been type approved as a special use beacon which limited its potential to the military market in which SARBE is a market leader. Full type approval demonstrates that during testing the AAPLB achieved the highest performance levels set down by the COSPAS-SARSAT secretariat for Personal Locator Beacons. COSPAS-SARSAT is a global communications system that provides distress alert and location data to Search and Rescue (SAR) operations to assist persons in distress. The system uses satellites and ground facilities to detect and locate the signals of distress beacons operating on 406MHz.

Improvements made to the design and manufacture of the previously approved SARBE AAPLB necessitated the new COSPAS-SARSAT type approval. Following the award of the full type approval, SARBE finalized a contract to supply AAPLB’s to the Spanish Armed Forces. Spain joins the Armed Forces of the U.K. as users of this high performance, latest generation SARBE beacon.

"Interested customers have been monitoring developments as we prepare the AAPLB for the U.K. We view this new order from Spain as a vote of a confidence and a sign of our progress,” commented, Joe Grillo, Chief Executive Officer of Digital Angel. "We expect to see additional demand for the AAPLB this year, and believe that worldwide demand exists for over 15,000 units.

Personal Locator Beacons (PLBs) are standard survival equipment for military aircrews, and are increasingly being used in consumer markets by boaters, hikers and other outdoor enthusiasts who frequently travel outside cell phone range.

About SARBE

A division of Digital Angel’s Signature Industries subsidiary, based in the United Kingdom, SARBE is a world-leading supplier of Search and Rescue Beacon Equipment and Personal Locator Beacons (PLBs). SARBE beacons are now among the most technologically-advanced available, featuring digital satellite communications, Global Positioning by Satellite (GPS) and programmable functionality. Its SARBE trademark is widely considered the global standard for these devices, which are now found on ships, aircraft and submarines of the armed forces in more than 50 countries.

About Digital Angel

Digital Angel (NASDAQ: DIGA) is an advanced technology company in the field of animal identification and emergency identification solutions. Digital Angel's products are utilized around the world in such applications as pet identification, using its patented, FDA-approved implantable microchip; livestock identification and herd management using visual and radio frequency identification (RFID) ear tags; and global positioning systems (GPS) search and rescue beacons for army, navy and air force applications worldwide. For further information please visit www.digitalangel.com.

This press release contains certain "forward-looking” statements (as such term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995). Forward-looking statements included in this press release include, without limitation, those concerning expectations regarding the expected benefits of and demand for the technology and the impact on the Company’s financial results. These forward-looking statements are based on the Company's current expectations and beliefs and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Additional information about these and other factors that could affect the Company's businesses is set based on the Company's current expectations and beliefs and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions forth in the Company's Form 10-K under the caption "Risk Factors" filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") on April 1, 2010, and subsequent filings with the SEC. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or release any revisions to these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this statement or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as required by law.