Sikorsky Aircraft selects SGI Technology for advanced concept projects

EDP Weekly's IT Monitor, March 31, 2003

SGI Origin 300 Complements Computing Infrastructure for Design and Development of World-Class Helicopters

SGI Federal, an SGI company (NYSE: SGI), recently announced that Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation has selected SGI Origin 300, a compact, modular supercomputer, to support major engineering programs such as the COMANCHE helicopter, the U.S. Army's centerpiece for full-spectrum dominance and total force protection in the 21st century, and new leading-edge advanced concept projects such as the Unmanned Combat Armed Rotorcraft. Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation, a subsidiary of United Technologies Corporation (NYSE: UTX), is a world leader in the design, manufacture and service of advanced helicopters for commercial, industrial and military uses.

SGI Origin 300 includes the revolutionary SGI NUMAflex shared-memory architecture for high-productivity computing (HPC) and complements the SGI technology already in use in Sikorsky's Advanced Design Infrastructure group to maintain a next-generation, transparent heterogeneous computing environment. Sikorsky currently uses SGI Origin servers and Silicon Graphics Octane2 and Silicon Graphics Fuel visual workstations. The specialized analytical computer-aided engineering (CAE) and computer-aided design (CAD) productivity generated from these systems aids in the concept, development, production, maintenance and support of existing and future Sikorsky rotorcraft. Sikorsky also selected SGI FullCare support services for comprehensive hardware and software support.

According to Dawn Bartlett of the Sikorsky Advanced Design Infrastructure group, "SGI products and services provide a solid and supportive foundation for Sikorsky to engage in advanced concept development projects that require engineering design and analysis of radar cross-sections, computational fluid dynamics and operations analysis concept validations. The computing capabilities and the company's ability to tightly integrate HPC with advanced visualization will complement our continuous goal to achieve cost-effective rotorcraft design."

Larry McArthur, SGI's senior director of manufacturing industries marketing, adds, "Sikorsky's deployment of SGI leading-edge HPC solutions is a sound investment to significantly enhance engineering productivity. As a prominent global leader in advanced rotorcraft design, Sikorsky is an excellent example of how companies can generate return on investment by being committed to advanced CAE solutions from SGI and its industry software partners."

Sikorsky uses many of the latest commercial design and engineering analysis software packages along with specialized applications to determine advanced concepts from both a real-world-design and analytical point of view. Specifically, Sikorsky maintains a "best in field" CFD team that runs Fluent software for simulation and visualization on both Silicon Graphics Octane2 workstations and the SGI Origin 300 server. The analysis results offer critical design insight that is applied to the design process, ensuring that Sikorsky Aircraft rotorcraft remain world class.

This news release contains forward-looking statements regarding financial and contractual commitments that are subject to risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in such statements. The reader is cautioned not to rely unduly on these forward-looking statements, which are not a guarantee of future or current performance. Such risks and uncertainties include long-term program commitments, the performance of third parties, the sustained performance of current and futures products, financing risks, the ability to integrate and support a complex technology solution involving multiple providers and users, and other risks detailed from time to time in the company's most recent SEC reports, including its reports on From 10-K and Form 10-Q.