Igor Pasternak

Joint projects with the US government Pasternak's company R&D has been intensively funded by the US government. Aeros signed contracts with The Pentagon through DARPA's project Walrus HULA including $50 million project for the development of the Pelican prototype. In 2013, Pasternak led development and construction of Aeroscraft Dragon Dream, the first airship independent from ballast during cargo loading and able to conduct vertical take off and landing at fully load. In September 2013, after being cleared by the FAA, the Dragon Dream had its first tethered flight in Tustin, California.

Contributions to Ukraine’s Security in Response to Russian Aggression Igor Pasternak has played a significant role in supporting Ukraine's defense capabilities. In 2016, under a contract aimed at enhancing Ukraine's border security, Aeros deployed its Elevated Early Warning System (EEWS) along the Sea of Azov. The EEWS system was installed on Ukraine's Azov coast that year.

Following the launch of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Pasternak and his company donated over $1 million worth of body armor to Ukrainian frontline forces. Additionally, he became involved in a confidential communications network coordinated by the U.S. Department of Defense, facilitating direct lines of contact between General Mark Milley, Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, and General Valerii Zaluzhny, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Marina Pasternak Memorial Scholarship In 2000, Pasternak's younger sister Marina and his friend Levon Sanamyan died in a tragic accident in a hangar of Aeros while working inside a blimp. To honor Marina Pasternak's memory and her contributions to the company, Pasternak founded The Marina Pasternak Memorial Scholarship. The scholarship is provided to female students of the Department of Engineering at Santa Monica College.

Inventions Pasternak is the inventor of Cargo Airship With Variable Buoyancy Control (the Aeroscraft). The discriminating utility of this technology is to built-in internal ballast control which allows a vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) and hover operation at max payload without the use of off-board ballasting, and off-loading stores while hovering. He also devised a method to compress helium, which allowed for the ship to be made heavier or lighter as necessary. Flight system for a constant volume, variable buoyancy air vehicle (US Patent 9,016,622)

Multi-chamber landing system for an air vehicle (US Patent 8,864,068) Rigid body airship (US Patent D663,255) Cockpit for hybrid air vehicle (United States Patent D631,817)

Awards Pasternak has earned multiple recognitions over the years based on his accomplishments in the airship and air mobility industries.

Small Business Person of the Year for L.A. 2006 Small Business Person of the Year for L.A. 2010 Top USA Entrepreneur with Ukrainian Origin 2023