GlobalFoundries Inc. (GF) has won a contract from the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) to supply U.S.-made semiconductors for national security systems.
The chips will be manufactured at GF’s Fab 8 in Malta, New York, and will be used for the nation’s defense and aerospace applications.
The agreement will provide the DoD with a secure supply of semiconductors manufactured on GF’s 45 nm silicon-on-insulator (SOI) platform. Under the agreement, the semiconductors will be transferred to GF’s Fab 8 from GF’s Fab 10 in East Fishkill, New York.
This transfer is due to GF’s Fab 10 transitioning ownership to ON Semiconductor and to ensure its 45 nm platform will be available to its customers.
“This agreement with GlobalFoundries will strengthen the domestic microelectronics industrial base, as part of the nation’s effort to sustain its semiconductor manufacturing capability necessary for national and economic security,” the DoD said in a statement. “Our agreement will ensure access to 45 nm SOI semiconductors critical to DoD strategic systems, and is the latest collaboration in the longstanding partnership between the DoD and GF to provide silicon-based semiconductors for defense aerospace applications.”
The agreement will award GF with $117 million with the first chips being delivered in 2023.
The DoD is ramping up its supply of semiconductors as it also has seen the situation in the supply chain with the ongoing chip shortage and is securing a supply of semiconductors for national security applications.
Last year, the DoD signed a contract with Intel Foundry Services (IFS) to fabricate custom and integrated circuits. Intel said it will work with IBM, Cadence, Synopsys and others to support the government’s needs for designing and manufacturing ICs.
