Lockheed Martin Selects Deneb Robotics for Virtual Product Development Initiative

Lockheed Martin Tactical Aircraft Systems (LMTAS) has chosen Deneb Robotics Inc., a Dassault Systemes S.A. company (Nasdaq: DASTY), as their supplier of Digital Manufacturing software for its Virtual Product Development Initiative (VPDI). VPDI is a five year program focused on transforming the way that Lockheed Martin develops aircraft through the use of modeling and simulation software tools.

TROY, MI, July 8, 1999--Deneb’s physics based simulation software will assist Lockheed Martin to achieve the goals of the VPDI by providing a digital environment for manufacturing and maintenance process design and validation. When the Digital Manufacturing capabilities from Deneb are combined with the solid model design capabilities of CATIA, it provides Lockheed Martin a seamless environment for integrated product and process development.

"Lockheed Martin is applying Deneb’s software as one of the tools we are using to achieve revolutionary reductions in design development cycle time, manufacturing cycle time, and maintenance," stated Mary Ann Horter, Director of the Virtual Product Development Initiative at LMTAS in Fort Worth, Texas. "This will allow us to produce improved, affordable products and processes for all of our advanced aircraft clientele."

The Digital Manufacturing software is first being applied in Lockheed Martin’s Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) Program. JSF is a joint service, future replacement, multi-role fighter being developed for the Air Force, the Navy, the Marine Corps, Britain’s Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. Planned to be operational in the year 2008, some 3,000 JSF’s are expected to be built for the combined services. To win the JSF contract – which is expected to be awarded in 2001 – Lockheed Martin has teamed with Northrop Grumman and British Aerospace. LMTAS of Fort Worth, Texas leads the team. This virtual environment will be used to simulate every aspect of JSF design, support and manufacturing, allowing design improvement and process development before the product is even built.

"This is an exciting partnership for Deneb," said Bob Brown, President, Deneb Robotics, Inc. "The Virtual Product Development Initiative will provide Lockheed Martin one of the most integrated environments for digital product and process design, digital product testing, and digital process validation that exists today within any aerospace company worldwide, and we are honored to be a part of it."

"We view VPDI as an important initiative in our efforts to make the Lockheed Martin ‘Fighter Enterprise’ more capable of providing the best and most affordable next generation fighter aircraft. The digital environment available from the combination of Deneb and CATIA software from Dassault Systemes enables us to very quickly perform multiple trade-off evaluations to eliminate potential problems before they occur, and achieve the lowest life cycle cost design. This enhances Lockheed Martin’s productivity, competitiveness and the bottom line". "Deneb’s digital manufacturing software is a key element of Lockheed Martin’s strategic partnership with Dassault Systemes and IBM for CAD/CAM Systems" said Mrs. Horter.

"Dassault Systemes is proud that the Virtual Product Development Initiative at Lockheed Martin chose CATIA and Deneb Digital Manufacturing softwares as their products and processes development tools," said Philippe Forestier, Executive Vice President, Dassault Systemes. "We are very pleased with the enthusiasm being shown by the engineers at Lockheed Martin for taking maximum advantage of this seamless digital environment."