<<Any idea what type of workstations they are? Sun, SGI, IBM, HP, etc.?>>
I know at least some of the processors on the E-3 are MIPS R4400. The workstations are proprietary and were custom made for the application, i.e. ASICs were built on a board with some processor, special display equipment and interfaces. I can't go into too much detail in any area here for disclosure reasons. But I can tell you that the faster they can gather, process, save, and transmit radar data, the better. FC could provide orders of magnitude better performance over certain currently used technologies such as SCSI and VME bus.
This could also apply to other, higher production aircraft, ground equipment, submarines and other water vessels etc. This could wind up being a gold mine, but before anyone gets too excited they should remember these contracts don't pop up over night. The government is a very large buerocracy and even if FC is deployed heavily, it will take years to peak.
Steve |
