European order for latest NEC supercomputer

Citation

(1999), "European order for latest NEC supercomputer", Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, Vol. 71 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/aeat.1999.12771bab.008

European order for latest NEC supercomputer

European order for latest NEC supercomputer

Keywords Computers, NEC

NEC European Supercomputer Systems (ESS) today announced that the French aerospace research agency ONERA (Office National d'Etudes et de Recheérches Aerospatiales), has purchased an NEC SX-5 series supercomputer. The purchase is highly significant, demonstrating confidence and renewed optimism in the aerospace industry. The industry was boosted recently when British Airways signed a multi-billion pound contract to purchase Airbus by placing its biggest ever order for new aircraft with the European consortium.

ONERA is the first European aerospace agency to purchase the recently launched NEC SX-5 series supercomputer, and means that three of the largest European aerospace agencies all use NEC supercomputers. NLR (Nationaal Lucht-en Ruimtevaartlaboratorium), The Netherlands national laboratory for aerospace research development, and DLR (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft-und Raumfahrt e.V.), the German centre for air and space travel, have both been using NEC supercomputers for a number of years. DLR has two supercomputer systems, one at Göttingen and the other at Braunschweig. The German part of the Airbus consortium is one of the most active users of these machines and also relies on the SX-power of the installation at Debis Systemhaus, owned by the Daimler Benz group, the largest independent IT service provider in Germany. This investment ranks ONERA as the top French company in this field to be equipped with such a powerful supercomputer. "Our investment in this new SX 5 supercomputer will help place ONERA among Europe's foremost aerospace research organisations, and in doing so will make a dynamic contribution to pan-European aerospace research", declared François Mescam, Director of Scientific Computation and Networks at ONERA.

ONERA is the first major customer to sign a contract for this class of hardware since the agreement announced last March between Bull (an international IT group based in France), and NEC ESS for the marketing of SX supercomputers. ONERA will use the system for complex simulation purposes, enabling them to improve their efficiency in carrying out more detailed research projects. ONERA has been actively involved in all major French and European aerospace programmes and, notably, the Airbus project.

The power and extensive memory of the SX-5 will, it is claimed, not only boost the capability of ONERA in future projects, but it also facilitates international co-operation between the European aerospace research centres via their shared preference for the SXSeries, meaning compatibility and easy exchange of work and data.

For NEC, the aerospace industry has again proved to be a significant user since the first ever SX system sold in Europe was an SX-2 in 1987 for the NLR. Today's order of an SX-5 by ONERA is the 30th system sold to European customers.

Further details from NEC European Supercomputers Systems. Tel: +49 211 5369 125; Fax: +49 211 5369 199; E-mail: clantwin@ess.nec.de