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By Mike Dodd, USMC (Ret.)
A startup executive recently told me, “DoD customers aren’t asking for domestically produced microchips in our products.” And while technically that may be the case, it’s going to change, and for good reason.
It doesn’t take much of an imagination to see how a malicious chip inadvertently used in a drone or counter-drone platform could wreak havoc on property and people.
Think back a couple of years when the Pentagon suspended delivery of F-35s due to the presence of a Chinese-produced alloy in a magnet. Then there’s the tragic death of First Lt. David Schmitz, an F-16 pilot, who died on impact after the parachute on his ejection seat failed to deploy. Counterfeit microchips used in the assembly were considered a possible cause. In both cases, the placement of the alloy and the microchips were oversights—now we need to expect that our adversaries will intentionally introduce malicious microchips into our domestic supply chain.
Actually, that’s happening. My national security colleagues estimate that some 20 percent of all microchips being used in the United States, including in many DoD-procured items—everything from laptop computers to front line weapons systems—could contain malicious microchips. That’s why the United States has placed such an emphasis on reshoring our microelectronics supply chain with the introduction of the CHIPs and Science Act, co-authored by my friend and Marine, Senator Todd Young. The leading edge of CHIPs is all about national security in the form of Microelectronics Commons.
“The (Microelectronics) Commons is crucial to ensuring a domestic supply of cutting-edge microchips that are integral to the systems our warfighters use now and into the future,” said Dr. Devanand Shenoy, Executive Director of the Microelectronics Commons and Principal Director for Microelectronics (at DoD).
The problem, for years, has been that the very cutting-edge microchips used in the most advanced warfighting systems are only available from foreign, and often untrusted, sources. And industry must oftentimes take the fastest and cheapest route when it comes to production.
“Vendors are incorporating commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components wherever possible to mitigate supply chain bottlenecks and to keep costs low,” according to a recent announcement by the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU).
So, the key is creating a domestic source of highly sophisticated microchips—COTS items available from trusted U.S. sources.
When it comes to microchips, making the type of chips used in defense applications involves what’s known as advanced packaging. In layman’s terms this means stacking and arranging miniscule chips closely together in a single “package” to increase various performance outputs. Currently, 97% of advanced packaging is happening almost exclusively overseas.
But that’s changing.
“Creating a broad-based advanced packaging ecosystem is crucial to the success of revitalizing the U.S. semiconductor industry…” said Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology and National Institute of Standards and Technology Director Laurie Locascio.
Samsung’s $40BN investment in Texas includes an advanced packaging facility. SK hynix is building a $4BN fab dedicated to advanced packaging adjacent to Purdue University. And SkyWater Technologies was recently awarded up to $190M to partner with Deca Technologies to produce chips in Florida that will be used in artificial intelligence, high-performance computing and other advanced applications.
“We are very excited about supporting domestic advanced packaging solutions by enabling SkyWater and Deca to establish developmental and volume manufacturing FOWLP technology for commercial and government customers’ applications with technical capability that equals that of foreign providers,” explained Matt Walsh, Office of the Secretary of Defense IBAS advanced packaging chief engineer.
Reshoring microelectronics is critical to our national security. However, technology alone won’t give us an edge.
“People have always been and will remain our decisive advantage,” said Gen. Eric Smith, Commandant of the Marine Corps. “But people enabled by data and technology are critical to winning our next fight.”
We must give our warfighters every available advantage. Ensuring that every single technology platform in the DoD is free of potentially malicious hardware just makes sense and, I believe, is our duty as Americans.
Success is not an option, because, as Gen. Douglas MacArthur so correctly pointed out, “there is no substitute for victory.”
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