Cubic Awarded $10.6 Million to Upgrade Canadian Forces' Air Combat Training System; New Components to Enhance NATO ``Maple Flag'' Exercises.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 20, 2003

The defense segment of Cubic Corp. (AMEX:CUB) has received a $10.6 million contract to expand mobile air combat training capabilities for Canada's "Maple Flag" exercises -- among the world's largest multinational, joint air combat training exercises held annually at the Cold Lake Air Weapons Range.

The Canadian Forces' new generation Air Combat Maneuvering Instrumentation System (CF-18 ACMI-2) will include additional "rangeless" training components that will allow more pilots to train autonomously in open airspace, without reliance on a fixed ground range.

Under the contract, Cubic Defense Applications will provide GPS-based "rangeless" pods for a dozen aircraft platforms, portable PC-based displays for aircrew debriefs and exercise control, and two years of logistics support.

"The enhancements will provide the Canadian Forces with a user-friendly, mobile training package that complements the existing ACMI system," said Gerald Dinkel, president and CEO of Cubic Defense Applications. "These 'train as you fight' capabilities will provide the ultimate learning experience for our NATO warfighters and enhance combat readiness."

Realism will be further enhanced with the addition of the portable Individual Combat Aircrew Display System (ICADS), which provides realistic, 3-D views of the simulated battle on personal computers or laptops. ICADS allows live controllers to communicate with pilots, control simulated threats and record the data for aircrew debriefs. It can also reconstruct missions from recorded flight data without reliance on a fixed ACMI ground infrastructure.

The CF-18 ACMI system provides both fully autonomous and tethered ACMI training capabilities for Maple Flag exercises. It is also the first system to integrate rangeless technology with an electronic warfare system -- the Canadian Forces' Surface Threat Electronic Warfare (STEW) system -- which simulates surface-to-air missiles and other ground-to-air threats.

The six-week Maple Flag event draws hundreds of pilots from around the world, who simulate combat missions as close as possible to the "real thing."

"The Canadian Air Base is the ideal training area for large-scale combat training missions. It features a huge airspace north of Cold Lake in Alberta with very little airway restrictions. It is also one of the few places where international forces can train collectively in a joint environment," said Keith Shean, Cubic CF-18 ACMI program manager.

This year's event, which begins this month and runs through mid-June, involves aircrews from the United States, Belgium, France and Canada. The exercise features two missions each day involving up to 75 high-activity aircraft that can be tracked simultaneously in real time.

The aircraft are tracked via the GPS-based pods that are mounted on the aircraft. These mobile pods collect in-flight data for both real-time tracking and post-mission debriefs.

The CF-ACMI system features a universal pod that enhances "dissimilar" air combat training between allied countries. Cubic has customized the pods for U.S. Air Force F-15s and F-16s; U.S. Navy and Marine Corps' F-14, F/A-18 and EA6B aircraft; German F-4s; Singapore F-16s; British Jaguars; Canadian CF-18s; French Mirage F-1s; French Mirage 2000s; and Netherlands and Denmark F-16s.

Cubic installed the Canadian Forces' first ACMI in 1982 and has operated and maintained the training system since that time.

The Cubic Defense Applications group, one of Cubic's two major segments, provides realistic combat training systems for military forces as well as simulation, force modernization, educational services, operations & maintenance and manufacturing services. The group also supplies products and systems for C4ISR (Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance & Reconnaissance) applications, search and rescue avionics and radio communications for military and civil markets. The corporation's other major segment, Cubic Transportation Systems, designs and manufactures automatic fare collection systems for public mass transit authorities. For more information about Cubic, see the company's Web site at www.cubic.com.