Lockheed Martin Unit Selects GoAhead Software to Ensure Reliability of World’s Premier Naval Defense System
Leading COTS High Availability and Management Solution Enables Command and Control Engineers to Rapidly Deploy and Optimize Investment
NXTcomm, Chicago—June 19, 2007—GoAhead® Software, the worldwide leader in open standards-based high availability and systems management middleware for carrier grade and mission critical systems, today announced that Lockheed Martin, with concurrence from their U.S. Navy customer, selected GoAhead SelfReliant® as the high availability (HA) and systems management solution in the Aegis Weapons System Open Architecture program. This program is a cornerstone for the modernization of the Navy’s Aegis-equipped cruisers and destroyers. As part of a successful transition from Aegis’ previous proprietary systems to those comprised of open standards-based, commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) components, Lockheed Martin sought a solution that included stringent availability, schedule, and cost reduction requirements.
“Aegis Open Architecture is opening the door to a new business model that more than ever leverages the innovations of small businesses,” said Orlando Carvalho, vice president and general manager of Lockheed Martin’s Surface/Sea-Based Missile Defense line of business. “We are pushing the envelope for technology that can be developed and delivered to the fleet rapidly and affordably. With SelfReliant, we had a working implementation in 30 days.”
With nearly 20,000 deployments worldwide, GoAhead Software provides open standards-based, high availability middleware that arms equipment manufactures facing stringent availability requirements with comprehensive high availability capabilities and the ability to speed their time to market and reduce project costs.
“We at GoAhead are thrilled to be selected as the high availability and management solution for the Aegis Open Architecture program,” states Jim Ewel, president and CEO at GoAhead. “We look forward to enabling Lockheed Martin to not only ensure reliability of this crucial system, but also to make system upgrades much more easily and cost-effectively and ensure application portability.”
As a co-founding member of the Service Availability Forum (SA Forum) and the first software vendor to implement to the SA Forum Hardware Platform Interface (HPI) and one of the first to implement the Application Interface Specification (AIS), GoAhead continues to forge ahead with open standards-based implementations. According to Lockheed, GoAhead’s leadership in developing and implementing such standards was also a determinant.
A new product line by GoAhead announced today with general availability slated for Q3 2007—GoAhead SAFfire™--includes the sophisticated HA and management capabilities found in the company’s flagship product, SelfReliant. Additionally, SAFfire features the most comprehensive implementation to date of the SA Forum AIS; highlights include support for the Availability Management Framework (AMF) and seven of the eight services. Lockheed Martin is among the companies evaluating SAFfire.
About the Aegis Weapons System
The Aegis Weapon System is the world’s premier naval surface defense system and is the foundation for Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense, the primary component of the sea-based element of the U.S. Ballistic Missile Defense System. The Aegis Weapon System includes the SPY-1 radar, the Navy's most advanced computer-controlled radar system. When paired with Lockheed Martin’s MK-41 Vertical Launch System, it is capable of delivering missiles for every mission and threat environment in naval warfare.
The evolution to open architecture will enable the Navy to readily incorporate software updates and the latest computing hardware in its Aegis systems, ensuring that those systems are maintained at the highest level of capability while employing low-cost, off-the-shelf solutions. Aegis Open Architecture will be introduced to the fleet beginning with USS Bunker Hill in 2008.
The Aegis Weapon System is currently deployed on 83 ships around the globe, with more than 20 additional ships planned. In addition to the United States, Spain and Australia, Aegis is the maritime weapon system of choice for Japan, South Korea and Norway.
About GoAhead Software
GoAhead Software is the worldwide leader in open standards-based high availability and systems management middleware for carrier-grade and mission critical systems for which downtime is unacceptable. With nearly 20,000 deployments, GoAhead has the only proven, open standards-based solution, reducing risk so you can meet time and cost requirements. GoAhead’s leadership and long commitment to Service Availability Forum standards prevent vendor lock-in and protect your investments over time. Every day, industry leaders such as Motorola, Alcatel, Italtel, Lockheed Martin and Honeywell entrust GoAhead to speed time to market, lower costs and focus on differentiation. For more information, visit www.goahead.com. For press information, contact Lacy Williams at 425-468-5417 or lwilliams@goahead.com.
GoAhead and SelfReliant are registered trademarks and SAFfire is a trademark of GoAhead Software, Inc. All other brand and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holder.
