Two Multipipe SGI Onyx 3800 Systems Part of Initial JSF Order

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Dec. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- SGI (NYSE: SGI - news) today announced that Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co. (NYSE: LMT - news) has selected SGI(TM) Onyx® 3000 series visualization systems to power the company's Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) flight simulation research laboratory in Fort Worth, Texas. The simulator will be used for pilot-in-the-loop evaluations of the JSF aircraft, a stealthy next-generation multirole strike fighter that will serve as the cornerstone of future defense capabilities for the United States and the United Kingdom.

The simulator supports assessment of the JSF tactical combat capabilities and includes integrated models of all primary on-board systems, including propulsion, aerodynamics, flight controls, weapons management, sensors, communications, pilot-vehicle interface and avionics. In the simulator, pilots climb into the JSF cockpit and fly the aircraft in highly realistic simulated battlefield situations, including targets, threats, terrain, weather and friendly forces. This allows pilots to evaluate system design in a realistic tactical environment and to recommend changes.

The U.S. Department of Defense on Oct. 26 awarded Lockheed Martin a contract to build about 3,000 JSF aircraft for the U.S. Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps and the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force and Royal Navy. The JSF program now moves into the System Development and Demonstration (SDD) phase, with first flight planned for 48 months and first aircraft delivery planned for 2008.

"SGI advanced visualization technology provided modeling and simulation breakthroughs during the JSF program's concept demonstration phase, allowing Lockheed Martin to reduce program risk and costs," said John Burwell, senior director of government industry, SGI. "Now that Lockheed Martin has entered the next phase of the JSF program, SGI visualization technology will continue to help Lockheed Martin's simulation-based acquisition efforts to find the best ways to design, build and maintain the JSF."

Only the SGI Onyx 3000 series of high-performance graphics systems has the power and real-time visualization capability to concurrently process imagery, video, 3D terrain and geospatial data. Designed to simultaneously process 3D graphics, 2D imagery and video data, the SGI Onyx 3000 series scales from single-user systems to those that combine the ultimate in supercomputing and visualization technologies.

The SGI Onyx 3000 series is the third-generation implementation of the revolutionary SGI(TM) NUMA architecture. This tightly coupled architecture with inherent scaling of system and graphics bandwidth is central to the series' breakthrough visual performance. The SGI NUMA architecture increases memory bandwidth and reduces memory latency.

The JSF program involves the initial production of 22 aircraft during the program's $25 billion SDD phase, formerly known as Engineering and Manufacturing Development. JSF is designed to replace A-10, AV-8, F-16 and F/A-18 aircraft.

About Lockheed Martin

Lockheed Martin, headquartered in Bethesda, Md., is a global enterprise principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture and integration of advanced-technology systems, products and services. The corporation's core businesses are systems integration, space, aeronautics and technology services.

About SGI

SGI, also known as Silicon Graphics, is the world's leading provider of high-performance computing, complex data management and visualization products, services and solutions that enable its technical and creative customers to gain strategic and competitive advantages in their core businesses. Whether being used to design and build safer cars and airplanes, discover new medications and oil reserves, predict the weather, entertain us with thrilling movie special effects or provide mission-critical support for government and defense, SGI systems and expertise are empowering a world of innovation and discovery. The company, located on the Web at www.sgi.com, is headquartered in Mountain View, Calif., and has offices worldwide.

NOTE: Onyx is a registered trademark, and SGI and the SGI logo are trademarks, of Silicon Graphics, Inc. All other trademarks mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners.

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