L-3 Communications' Link Simulation and Training Division Delivers Initial F/A-18 Hornet Aircrew Training System Simulator


NEW YORK-Aug. 16, 2006-L-3 Communications (NYSE: LLL) announced today that its Link Simulation and Training (Link) division has delivered the first F/A-18 Tactical Operational Flight Trainer (TOFT) in support of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) F/A-18 Hornet Aircrew Training System (HACTS). The F/A-18 TOFT, installed at RAAF Base Williamtown in New South Wales, Australia, was dedicated today during a ceremony at the base, declaring the installation ready for training.

Link is building three F/A-18 TOFTs and other associated capabilities for the HACTS under a subcontract from Raytheon Australia.

The initial F/A-18 TOFT installed at RAAF Base Willamtown is accompanied by a mission management system that consists of an instructor/operator station and a brief/debrief room. A second F/A-18 TOFT and mission management system, presently being installed at RAAF Base Tindal in Northern Territory, Australia, is expected to attain ready-for-training capability in mid-August. Link will deliver the third F/A-18 TOFT - which will be upgraded with a simulated Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System (JHMCS), an enhanced airfield database and a flight control computer update to maintain aircraft concurrency - in December to RAAF Base Williamtown. Hornet pilot training is scheduled to begin on the trainer by mid-January 2007.

"The F/A-18 Hornet Aircrew Training System will greatly expand the Royal Australian Air Force's ability to conduct advanced tactical training through the use of networked simulators," said Mike Wallace, vice president of Navy and Air Force Programs at Link. "This training system's advanced simulation technologies leverage the highly advanced F/A-18 training systems Link recently delivered to the United States Navy and support the Royal Australian Air Force's goal of maintaining highly prepared, tactically proficient Hornet aircrews."

The initial F/A-18 TOFT delivered to Williamtown is integrated with Link's SimuSphere(TM) visual display in a seven-panel configuration that will provide the pilot with a 300 horizontal x 130 vertical field-of-view. The F/A-18 TOFT being installed at Tindal also is supported by a seven-panel SimuSphere display. The F/A-18 simulator being installed later this year at Williamtown will be integrated with a nine-panel SimuSphere display that will provide the pilot with a 360 field-of-view. Link's SimuView(TM) personal computer image generation system will power both out-the-window imagery and simulator cockpit sensor display systems.

A simulated JHMCS will be integrated onto all three TOFTs, marking the first time a JHMCS training capability has been used with a near-eye-relief visual display on an F/A-18 training system. The JHMCS, to be deployed on the RAAF's upgraded F/A-18 fleet, provides the pilot a targeting system that can be used to control sensors and weapons through visual cueing.

The F/A-18 TOFTs will reinforce a full range of pilot warfighting skills across both air-to-air and air-to-ground mission areas.

Link is a systems integration organization that delivers and supports training systems and equipment to enhance operational proficiency. Link's services include conducting front-end analysis, program design, simulator design and production and field support. Link has major operations in Arlington, TX, and other key bases of operation in Binghamton, NY; Orlando, FL; Broken Arrow, OK and Phoenix, AZ.

Headquartered in New York City, L-3 Communications is a leading provider of Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) systems, secure communications systems, aircraft modernization, training and government services. The company is a leading merchant supplier of a broad array of high technology products, including guidance and navigation, sensors, scanners, fuzes, data links, propulsion systems, simulators, avionics, electro optics, satellite communications, electrical power equipment, encryption, signal intelligence, antennas and microwave components. L-3 also supports a variety of Homeland Security initiatives with products and services. Its customers include the Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, selected U.S. Government intelligence agencies and aerospace prime contractors.

To learn more about L-3 Communications, please visit the company's web site at www.L-3com.com.

L-3 Communications
Cynthia Swain, 212-697-1111

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Rick Oyler
Link Simulation & Training
817-619-3536

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Media: Evan Goetz
212-850-5600

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