ARMONK, NY -- IBM today announced that AIX 5L(tm) is the first UNIX(R) operating system to achieve certification on a crucial platform used by the nation's Department of Defense (DoD). This certification was critical in winning a contract for the DoD's Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) program with Boeing as the prime contractor. Boeing selected IBM to provide p690 systems running AIX(R) and eServer workstations. IBM has placed 66 eServer p690 systems into the Missile Defense program. Twenty of the p690s will be used by Boeing to run sophisticated test and simulations. The balance of the systems will be deployed by TRW for Battle Management Command and Control. The Department of Defense requires that operating systems used for Command and Control be certified to run its Common Operating Environment (COE). The COE is a user interface, which operates using the same commands regardless of what operating system is running on the server. Having a common look and feel saves the DoD millions of dollars in training costs, since users do not have to learn multiple operating systems. AIX is the first OS to be certified on COE Version 4. In order to meet the Government's strict requirements for certification, IBM was required to review and port approximately 875,000 lines of code and compile 1,500 pages of supporting documentation. The Government then tested its software on AIX using 29 thorough validation procedures. "The compliance certification demonstrates our ongoing commitment to the Government sector and opens up a great market opportunity in the Department of Defense," said Anne Altman, IBM Managing Director for US Federal, "Being selected by Boeing for the Ground-based Midcourse Defense program highlights the power and reliability the eServer p690 and AIX." "The Common Operating Environment is a key piece of software enabling better communication within the Department of Defense," said Fritz Schultz, Defense Information System Agency (DISA) KPC Program. "We are very pleased to have AIX certified on COE." About COE and the Kernel Compliance Program The COE is designed to provide common information technology architecture to promote interoperability and to establish cross-platform capabilities for the increasingly diverse Department of Defense (DoD) operations. The Kernel Compliance Program allows the Defense Information System Agency (DISA) to validate a vendor's certification of a specific hardware/software platform against DISA criteria for Kernel Platform compliance. These criteria include compliance with industry standards, commercial testing, and satisfaction of DISA interoperability security, and functional requirements.