September 27, 2006 – Edison, New Jersey and Toulon, France computers activities of a leading provider of integrated PowerPC and Pentium-based VME COTS computing systems and solutions to OEMs and system integrators, today announced that it has been selected to provide its fully rugged version of the IBM JS20 dual PPC970 blade server, the PowerNode5, as a computing solution for the I-MASTER radar used aboard the Watchkeeper UAV.
I-MASTER is the new lightweight high performance combined synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and ground moving target indicator (GMTI) developed by Thales Aerospace. I-MASTER weighs only 30kg and provides the perfect balance of capability, cost, weight and power consumption for use onboard a wide range of unmanned air vehicles (UAV), helicopters, small fixed wing aircraft and tilt rotor platforms. I-MASTER will be aboard the Watchkeeper, the UK Ministry of Defence’s unmanned aerial vehicle program, which will provide the UK armed forces with essential Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance (ISTAR) capability, and will be a key component of the UK’s drive for Network Enabled Capability (NEC).
The PowerNode5 is available in standard convection cooled and rugged conduction cooled versions for harsh environment applications. The PowerNode5 that will power I-MASTER features two IBM 970FX processors clocked at 1.6GHz and up to 2GB DDR SDRAM ECC memory with 6.4 GB/s memory peak bandwidth. The developers of I-MASTER can initially develop applications on a low-cost, standard IBM blade server and easily port the application to the PowerNode5 system. Additionally, the PowerNode5 offers a smooth migration path from existing PPC G4-based platforms and will enable I-MASTER designers to easily and efficiently preserve their legacy software investments. PowerNode5 was chosen because, compared to current G3/G4 technologies, the G5 architecture offers improved performance that enables the end-user to optimize software application development based on new hardware advances.
Alain Albarello, general manager of Thales computers activities, said, “We are very proud that PowerNode5 has been selected to fly as part of I-MASTER and Watchkeeper and has proven its ability to sustain harsh environmental conditions. Our hardware products are second to none and our recent addition of the Gedae programming tool to the PowerNode5 system shows our commitment to maintaining the highest standards of software development and application programming. That is what customers like the designers of I-MASTER and Watchkeeper expect, and what they have come to know and expect from us.”
About Thales
Thales is a leading international electronics and systems group, serving defence, aerospace, security and services markets worldwide. The Group employs 60,000 people throughout the world and generated revenues of $12 billion in 2005. Thales computers include development of commercial and ruggedized VMEbus & CompactPCI multiprocessing solutions based on PowerPC and Intel microprocessors. Thales’ products are optimized for a wide variety of applications in the military, aerospace, transportation, communications, and industrial markets and are used by customers worldwide, including Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, Boeing, Bombardier, Toshiba, British Aerospace, Ericsson, Alcatel, Thales Group, and others. For more information please visit our web site at www.thalescomputers.com.
Valérie Bertheau
Tel: 011 33 1 39 45 59 77
infocom@thalescomputers.fr
Highland Stone Associates for Thales
Edward Cooper
Tel: (301) 654-9342
