cartome.org

15 March 2002

Source: http://www.prnewswire.com/news/

General Dynamics Selects SGI Technology to Power U.S. Navy's 21st- Century Battlespace Management System
PR Newswire; New York; Feb 21, 2002;

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Feb. 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- SGI (NYSE: SGI) today announced that General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems, a unit of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), has selected SGI(R) high-performance computing and visualization systems to power the U.S. Navy's Area Air Defense Commander (AADC) Capability system.

The AADC Capability program is a 21st-century battlespace management system that will help the military services plan and coordinate joint theater air and missile defenses against ballistic and tactical missile attacks by providing the Joint Forces Commander with a fully integrated air defense capability. The system uses SGI technology to provide an integrated picture of the battlespace so that a Joint Forces Commander can quickly gather data on air and missile attacks and develop an air defense plan that recommends tactical placement of air defense assets from land and sea.

The latest delivery of SGI systems to General Dynamics, under the AADC Capability program, includes a 32-processor SGI(R) Origin(R) 3400 server, four SGI(R) Onyx(R) 3000 series high-performance graphics systems, eight Silicon Graphics(R) Octane2(TM) visualization workstations and a Silicon Graphics(R) O2+(TM) graphics workstation. These systems will be used to power General Dynamics' AADC Capability integrated testing facility in Greensboro, N.C., to aid shipboard AADC Capability installations.

AADC Capability units have already been installed and fielded aboard the U.S. Navy's command and control ship USS MOUNT WHITNEY and the Aegis cruiser USS HILOH. The Navy has identified 17 other sites for AADC Capability installations including other command and control ships, Aegis-class cruisers and other facilities.

"We're delighted that General Dynamics has selected us for the AADC Capability program and that SGI systems will be used in the operational theater," said John Burwell, senior director of government industry, SGI. "Our company focus on enabling Visual Area Networks is well suited to support battle management applications that allow systems like the AADC Capability to track aircraft and missiles in near real time, providing vital friend-or-foe data while giving commanders a 3-D air picture of the theater of operations. Our high-performance visualization systems, with their superb resolution and near real-time accuracy, support the fusion of disparate data sources, including geospatial information, video, visual databases, and computational data."

AADC Capability's near real-time collaboration and war-gaming capability is embedded, so that every potential course of action and outcome is demonstrated before it is executed. Once a course of action is selected, a commander can monitor events as they unfold, reacting to new threats and changing situations as they arise.

The General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems AADC Capability team is working closely with the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md. The Johns Hopkins lab developed the initial AADC prototype, which was also powered by SGI servers and visualization systems. The General Dynamics AADC Capability solution features an open systems architecture that is fully expandable to meet the Navy's current and future operational requirements.

About SGI

Celebrating its 20th year, SGI, also known as Silicon Graphics, Inc., 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.

About General Dynamics

General Dynamics, headquartered in Falls Church, Va., employs approximately 52,000 people worldwide and had sales in 2001 of $12 billion. The company has leading market positions in land and amphibious combat systems, mission-critical information systems and technologies, shipbuilding and marine systems and business aviation. More information about the company is available on the World Wide Web at www.generaldynamics.com.

NOTE: Silicon Graphics, SGI, the SGI logo, Origin, Octane, O2 and Onyx are registered trademarks, and Octane2 and O2+ are trademarks, of Silicon Graphics, Inc. All other trademarks mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20010510/SFTH025LOGO )

CONTACT: Greg Slabodkin of SGI, +1-301-595-2618, or slabodkin@sgi.com; or SGI PR Hotline, +1-650-933-7777, or SGI PR Fax, +1-650-932-0737.