Compiled ByTraci Purdum To streamline design and engineering of its Joint Strike Fighter, Bethesda, Md.-based Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co. licensed T-Systems Inc.'s CATIA Metaphase Interface (CMI) software. The advanced engineering design and production software will work to increase efficiency in product revisions and assembly processes. "We selected T-Systems' CATIA Metaphase Interface software product as the initial tool for interfacing CATIA with our Metaphase Product Data Management System for our Joint Strike Fighter Program," says Mark Peden, Lockheed Martin's vice president of Information Systems and Technology. "CMI offers us an initial lower risk and more supportable, simpler architecture for the Joint Strike Fighter program as it brings new team members and suppliers on board." Chicago-based T-Systems bridged CATIA and Metaphase six years ago when it developed the software on a project for Daimler-Benz. The interface tied the applications together without need for any additional software or hardware, which succeeded in lowering total cost of ownership for Daimler-Benz.