SANDISK AND TARGA EQUIP U.S. MILITARY HELICOPTERS, JET
FIGHTERS AND BOMBERS WITH FLASH MEMORY CARDS
Rugged Cards Store Critical Mission Data Flash Replaces
Other Storage Technologies In Military Applications
SUNNYVALE, CA, Oct. 16, 2001 - SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ:SNDK)
and Targa Electronics Systems, Inc., announced today that
Targa storage systems equipped with SanDisk flash memory
cards are being used on a growing number of U.S. military
helicopters, jet fighter planes and bombers. More than
20 aircraft, including the B-2 Stealth Bomber, NATO AWACS,
C-5 Galaxy, F-15 and F-16 now fly with the storage systems
and flash cards.
SanDisk has been supplying Targa, a leader in providing
ruggedized data storage solutions to the military and aerospace
markets, with standard, industrial grade Type II flash
memory PC cards for many years and more recently started
shipping smaller-sized SanDisk industrial CompactFlash™ (CF™)
cards to Targa. Removable SanDisk PC cards primarily are
integrated into Targa Data Transfer Units (about the size
of a video cassette) that are installed in the cockpits
of the aircraft.
Joseph Fronsee, Targa's vice president of sales and marketing,
said, "SanDisk's solid-state (no moving parts) flash cards
are exactly what we need for these harsh and rugged applications
where our storage systems store mission data, boot-up programs,
area maps, video imagery and other data that is classified.
We use only SanDisk industrial grade flash cards so we
can meet the temperature requirements of these systems."
He added, "These SanDisk cards are small and compact enough
to fit into our systems. And they are very advantageous
because they have an industrial standard interconnect.
You can take out the cards and plug them into virtually
any ground station or laptop and analyze the data on the
card. Before flash cards were installed, we mainly used
large, cumbersome cartridges with CMOS RAM technology with
battery backup. Flash cards are a much better way to go.
Because the cost of flash has come down so much, it also
has enabled new applications such as the HUMS (health and
usage monitoring systems) now used frequently on helicopters."
Those monitoring products essentially are maintenance
prediction systems that record the wear and tear taking
place on the aircraft. They are equipped with advanced
software, temperature, vibration and strain sensors and
SanDisk PC flash cards with capacities up to 256 megabytes
that capture and store all the data being collected.
The CF cards are employed in a Targa data cartridge product
used in air combat training flights. The cartridges are
housed in a pod under the wing where they collect flight
data that is later downloaded via the removable cartridge
and analyzed. SanDisk PC cards also fly on the B-2 bomber
where they replaced optical disks. Fronsee said that "the
disks were not nearly as tolerant to heat, cold and vibration
as are the flash cards."
Mitch Cohen, SanDisk's vice president for industrial products,
said, "Our industrial grade flash cards meet very rigorous
standards for ruggedness, reliability and operation in
extreme temperatures. Targa is a valuable ally for SanDisk
because they have been involved in important military and
aerospace programs since 1981. We are delighted that they
selected SanDisk as the exclusive supplier of their flash
cards."
David Saunders, Targa's vice president of engineering
and program management, said, "Over the years, we have
selected a few flash cards from other companies and compared
them with SanDisk cards. We were able to destroy the other
cards with a little testing but the SanDisk cards continued
to work. One of our customers subjected the SanDisk cards
to the most rigorous temperature and vibration stress that
its testing equipment would generate including taking it
down to -70 Celsius and up to +120 Celsius. They were unable
to break the SanDisk cards, and they passed all the tests."
He also noted that "in our business, we carefully assess
the lifetime cost of ownership. You can try to get the
lowest priced flash card to save a few dollars and end
up spending thousands of dollars with product failures
and recalls. SanDisk is the best of the breed in the quality
of its products, yet it is competitively priced."
Targa, headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, is a
world leader in providing solid-state data storage solutions
for military and aerospace applications.
SanDisk, the world's largest supplier of flash data storage
products, designs, manufactures and markets industry-standard,
solid-state data, digital imaging and audio storage products
using its patented, high density flash memory and controller
technology. SanDisk is based in Sunnyvale, CA.
The matters discussed in this news release contain forward
looking statements that are subject to certain risks and
uncertainties as described under the caption, "Factors
That May Affect Future Results" in the company's annual
report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q,
filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The
companies assume no obligation to update the information
in this release.
Targa's web site/home page address: www.targasystems.com
SanDisk's web site/home page address: www.sandisk.com
All trade names are either registered trademarks or trademarks
of their respective holders.
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