AMES, Iowa, February 2nd, 1998 -- Lockheed Martin’s (NYSE: LMT) Aeronautics Sector has selected Engineering Animation, Inc.’s (Nasdaq: EAII) visualization products for use in the Sector’s virtual product development environment, with applications on the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), F-22, F-16, X-33 and other advanced aircraft programs.

Under the agreement, EAI’s VisFly® product visualization software and VisMockUp® digital prototyping software will be used within Lockheed Martin’s initiatives to drive down cost throughout the aircraft development process.

Lockheed Martin selected EAI’s VisProducts™ based on the software’s demonstrated advantages for enterprise-wide product visualization, collaboration and digital mockup capabilities. Lockheed Martin’s initial implementation of VisProducts will be for the JSF program, in which the corporation is developing a new family of tactical aircraft for use by the U.S. Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps and the United Kingdom’s Royal Navy

"This agreement continues the Aeronautics Sector’s commitment to establish strategic partnerships with the best high technology companies in the world," said James A. "Micky"

Blackwell, president and chief operating officer of Lockheed Martin’s Aeronautics Sector. "It also will help us achieve our objective of transforming the Aeronautics Sector into a ‘virtual company,’ in which people can overcome the limitations of geography and work together more effectively regardless of where they reside."

"We selected EAI for this important initiative because they share our vision of conducting world-class product development for the 21st century in a virtual environment," said Blackwell.

EAI’s VisFly will be used to conduct design reviews in coast-to-coast, collaborative sessions over Lockheed Martin networks. Visualization of virtual designs and manufacturing processes prevents costly mistakes by detecting design and manufacturing errors before assembly even begins. Lockheed Martin will use EAI’s VisMockUp and VP/Sequence module to confirm part fits and to view product part arrangement and assembly orders in product tooling.

"EAI’s VisProducts improve communication throughout the company and allow for interaction with complete digital products, which will aid in the discovery of product design defects before retooling is necessary," said Don Westerheide, vice president of enterprise integration at the Aeronautics Sector’s headquarters in Bethesda, Md. "This enterprise-wide virtual development environment will allow the entire sector to interact with complete digital models, which will translate directly into quality improvements and cost reductions."

"EAI’s software will play a key role within the Aeronautics Sector by providing interactive viewing and spatial analysis of aircraft components to find and resolve design and manufacturing faults at the earliest opportunity," said Woody Sconyers, director of the Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Sector’s Virtual Product Development Initiative. "VisProducts will be used not only by design, analysis, manufacturing, tooling and support engineers but also by management, the customer and others who need to visualize and comprehend the product, how it is manufactured, and how it is maintained.

"The ability to use EAI products for visualization of our product and manufacturing models by non-technical personnel will greatly enhance enterprise productivity," Sconyers said.

Matthew Rizai, EAI’s president and CEO, said EAI’s VisProducts will integrate seamlessly with Lockheed Martin’s product data management systems and CATIA, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Sector’s core CAD/CAM software.

"With EAI’s software, Lockheed Martin’s Aeronautics Sector can use the visualization and digital prototyping benefits of VisProducts within a seamless, integrated environment," Rizai said. "EAI is committed to providing our customers with the technologies and strategies to give them a competitive advantage. By building strategic partnerships with such industry-leaders as Lockheed Martin, we are providing our customers with the next-generation visualization technology to make significant advancements in our customers’ product development processes."

About EAIEAI is a leading producer of enterprise-wide product data visualization and collaboration software solutions for major manufacturing corporations. EAI’s VisProducts improve product understanding and reduce the time to market by identifying product defects early in the design cycle. EAI’s corporate headquarters and technology center are located in Ames, Iowa, with offices worldwide.

About Lockheed MartinHeadquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin is a highly diversified global enterprise principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture and integration of advanced-technology products and services. The Corporation’s core businesses span aeronautics, electronics, energy and environment, information and services, space and telecommunications, strategic missiles and systems integration. Aeronautics Sector companies include Lockheed Martin Tactical Aircraft Systems, Fort Worth, Tex.; LM Aeronautical Systems, Marietta, Ga.; the LM Skunk Works, Palmdale, Calif.; and LM Aircraft and Logistics Centers, Greenville, S.C. Employing some 180,000 people worldwide, the Corporation had 1997 sales of $28 billion.