Altera Announces First AQEC-Compliant FPGAs

Demonstrates Company's Enhanced COTS Mil/Aero Market Strategy

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- July 18, 2006 -- Altera Corporation today announced that its Stratix® and Cyclone® FPGAs have been certified to be in compliance with the Aerospace Qualified Electronic Components (AQEC) specification GEIA-STD-0002-01. The specification, created by more than a dozen semiconductor manufacturers (including Altera) and avionic developers, provides a formal compliance process to assure customers that commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) components meet the low-risk, high- reliability needs of the military and aerospace electronics market. Altera® programmable logic devices are the first to receive AQEC certification.

"Altera is on the right track because they are providing more customer value at a lower cost compared with other players," said Rich Wawrzyniak, senior analyst with Semico Research. "Executing on their enhanced COTS strategy will clearly enable deeper penetration of the military market."

Altera's Enhanced COTS Strategy

Participation in the AQEC working group is a key part of Altera's enhanced COTS strategy, which addresses the unique needs of the military and aerospace market. The strategy includes providing devices that support a wide range of temperature gradients, die business support, long-term obsolescence protection, and a consistent supply chain. Digital signal processing (DSP) performance and density features of the Stratix FPGA series, and the low cost and low power of the Cyclone FPGA series, enable military and aerospace manufacturers to develop highly reliable designs with reduced risk. Altera's Stratix II and Cyclone II FPGAs, and MAX® II CPLDs are currently in the process of obtaining AQEC certification. Stratix II FPGAs include anti- tampering design security using a 128-bit advanced encryption standard (AES) design security key.

AQEC Specification

The AQEC specification requires semiconductor manufacturers and distributors to document the processes they use to analyze, test or otherwise characterize their COTS products. The release of the AQEC specification, GEIA- STD-0002-01 "Aerospace Qualified Electric Component Requirements, Volume 1 - Integrated Circuits and Semiconductors," meets a Department of Defense milestone created to enhance the performance and cost benefits of COTS components. The AQEC working group, in conjunction with the Government Electronics and Information Technology Association (GEIA), was responsible for the creation and publication of the specification.

"As a part of the AQEC working group, Altera is at the forefront of redefining the use of COTS in the military and aerospace market," said Don Faria, senior vice president of Altera's business units. "Altera's enhanced COTS strategy reduces risk while providing highly reliable solutions, which ensure that our customers successfully meet their product commitments."

To learn more about Altera's enhanced COTS strategy, visit www.altera.com/enhanced-COTS. To read more about the AQEC specification, visit http://66.34.169.103/sstc/G12/aqec/AQEC_White_Paper.pdf.

About Altera

Altera's programmable solutions enable system and semiconductor companies to rapidly and cost-effectively innovate, differentiate and win in their markets. Find out more at www.altera.com.