MENLO PARK, Calif., November 4, 2002 - SRI International, a leading independent research and development institute based in California's Silicon Valley, successfully demonstrated its state-of-the-art training system for live armored warfare training exercises at the Army National Guard's Wendell H. Ford Regional Training Center (Muhlenberg County, Ky.). Developed for the Army National Guard, "DFIRST™" - for "Deployable Force-on-Force Instrumented Range System" - uses a unique combination of wireless technology, geo-positioning, and simulation techniques to increase combat realism during force-on-force training exercises. The DFIRST system was developed to improve the combat readiness of Army National Guard armored units.

"As someone who has over 20 years of experience in simulation and modeling, I have found SRI's DFIRST system to be the most 'soldier-friendly' armored warfare training solution, since it is very easy to install and offers much better tactical fidelity than competing systems," said Brigadier General (Ret.) Earl L. "Jack" Doyle, deputy adjutant general for the Commonwealth of Kentucky. "Our Army National Guardsmen can install DFIRST and be running in under an hour, since setting up DFIRST takes much less time than competing systems. With DFIRST, SRI provides an innovative method whereby the Army National Guard's armored units can achieve the highest levels of combat readiness in the shortest possible time."

DFIRST: Advanced Tools to Accelerate and Improve Armored Warfare Training
The National Guard comprises over one-half of the Army's mechanized and armored forces. When called to active duty, the Army National Guard armored brigades are expected to be fully combat-ready within 90 days. Therefore, it is critical that armored units are trained as thoroughly and efficiently as possible during the roughly 39 training days they receive each year.

SRI's DFIRST system uses a highly innovative application of the Global Positioning System (GPS), high-speed wireless communications, and advanced data visualization tools. DFIRST allows Army National Guard personnel to engage in sophisticated armored warfare training exercises and play back the engagement's events in an after-action review facility. The DFIRST system shows National Guard personnel a complete picture of the battlefield, including both friendly and "enemy" tank locations at all times. Playing back the exercise allows the National Guard personnel to compare what they thought they saw during the battle, to what the "enemy" was actually doing. The GPS-based system can be installed in a fraction of the time required for conventional laser-based training systems, maximizing the limited training time Army National Guard personnel have available.

In addition to the Wendell H. Ford Regional Training Center deployment, current and future DFIRST sites include Army National Guard training centers in California, Idaho, Washington, Texas, Virginia, and Mississippi. SRI has been developing and fielding DFIRST since 1994.

More information on DFIRST is available at http://www.dfirst.com/.

About SRI International
Silicon Valley-based SRI International (www.sri.com) is one of the world's leading independent research and technology development organizations. Founded as Stanford Research Institute in 1946, SRI has been meeting the strategic needs of clients for more than 55 years. The nonprofit research institute performs contract research and development for government agencies, commercial businesses and private foundations. SRI is well known for its innovations in information technology, telecommunications, engineering, pharmaceuticals, chemistry, physics, and the public policy areas of education, health, and economic development. In addition to conducting contract R&D, SRI licenses its technologies, forms strategic partnerships and creates spin-off companies.