SGI Onyx 3000 Selected to Power Franco-German Tiger Helicopter Simulator

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA -- SGI (NYSE: SGI - news) today announced that Thales Training & Simulation (TT&S) has selected the SGI(TM) Onyx® 3000 series of high-performance graphics systems to serve as the image generator for the Franco-German Tiger helicopter training program. The initial delivery includes an SGI Onyx 3000 series visualization system that will drive a state-of-the-art Tiger helicopter full-mission simulator to provide the French and German armies with the ability to train Tiger aircrews for a wide variety of helicopter configurations and operational missions. The reconfigurable full-mission simulator, with a dual dome and motion system for individual and crew training of pilots and gunners, will be delivered in April 2004. InfiniteReality3(TM) is the latest version of the world-leading SGI(TM) InfiniteReality® graphics subsystem and is the high-performance graphics pipeline for the SGI Onyx 3000 series. Given the early 2004 delivery date for the Tiger full-mission simulator, SGI will supply a next-generation version of its InfiniteReality3 graphics subsystem that will offer increased pixel performance, price/performance and texture memory, significantly enhancing the ability for TT&S to provide high-resolution, geospecific images in support of the demanding environment of all-weather attack helicopter training. ``We are proud to have been selected by TT&S, a world leader in simulation known for its expertise in helicopter simulators designed to meet customer requirements for the most sophisticated commercial flight and combat training systems,'' said John Burwell, senior director of government industry, SGI. ``Our technology will contribute to the delivery to the French and German armies of one of the world's most advanced helicopter simulators with the highest fidelity and performance available in the industry.'' 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. 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. 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. For more information visit www.sgi.com