Xilinx and Thales to Demonstrate Partially Reconfigurable FPGA-Based Architecture at Software Defined Radio Technical Conference

• Single Chip FPGA for Military Communications Helps Designers Overcome Size,
• Weight and Power Dilemma Using Partial Reconfiguration to Load Multiple Independent Applications

-- Xilinx, Inc., the world's leading provider of programmable chips, and leading defense aerospace and security contractor Thales today announced they will demonstrate a partially reconfigurable FPGA-based single chip architecture in a SCA (Software Communication Architecture) compatible environment for military radios at the Software Defined Radio Technical Conference (SDR'07).

The demonstration will showcase how designers can overcome size, weight and power (SWAP) constraints by implementing multiple applications in a Xilinx(R) FPGA using partial reconfiguration. Partial reconfiguration utilizes the inherent flexibility of FPGAs to adapt a hardware design to modify applications while keeping the rest of the device active. By enabling partial reconfiguration, the FPGA can support more than one application in a smaller device providing that the applications are mutually exclusive.

"With its global involvement in tactical radios, Thales is at the forefront of SDR technology developments. Single chip partially-reconfigurable FPGA architecture is a major step to achieve an efficient solution for software-defined radio applications because it provides the flexibility required to support and deploy different and multiple waveforms," said Cedric Demeure, Thales Technical Business Unit Director.

"Xilinx customers can also use the Virtex(TM)-4 FX FPGA-based Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) Software Defined Radio (SDR) development kit to build similar systems. The kit enables developers to investigate alternative design approaches to lower the cost and power of their SDR modem with low risk and relatively low cost," said Manuel Uhm, Senior DSP Marketing Manager, Wireless & MILCOM at Xilinx.

Attendees to the SDR conference in Denver can see the demonstration at Xilinx booth #2.

About Thales

Thales is a leading international electronics and systems group, addressing defense, aerospace and security markets worldwide. Thales' leading-edge technology is supported by 22,000 R&D engineers who offer a capability unmatched in Europe to develop and deploy field-proven mission-critical information systems. To this end, the group's civil and military businesses develop in parallel and share a common base of technologies to serve a single objective: the security of people, property and nations. The group builds its growth on its unique multi-domestic strategy based on trusted partnerships with national customers and market players, while leveraging its global expertise to support local technology and industrial development. Thales employs 68,000 people in 50 countries with forecast 2007 revenues in excess of euro 12 billion.

About Xilinx

Xilinx, Inc. (Nasdaq: XLNX) is the worldwide leader of programmable logic solutions. Additional information about Xilinx is available at http://www.xilinx.com.