Aerospace giant Lockheed Martin and pure-play foundry GlobalFoundries (GF) are collaborating to secure U.S. semiconductor supply chains for national security systems.
Under the deal, Lockheed Martin will be more quickly and affordably able to produce secure solutions that increase competitiveness and national security of the U.S. The deal will also boost supply chain manufacturing innovation, security, reliability and resiliency.
Specifically, the collaboration will explore critical needs in the semiconductor supply chain including:
- 3D heterogeneous chip packaging
- Silicon photonics for data transport
- Gallium nitride on silicon
- Development of a chiplet ecosystem
The deal will support the CHIPS and Science Act’s objectives of increasing traceability, provenance and onshore production of semiconductor technologies for national and economic security and domestic supply chains, the companies said.
The move comes after GF was accredited by the U.S. Department of Defense as a trusted supplier allowing it to manufacture secure semiconductors for aerospace and defense applications for land, air, sea and space. The accreditation gives GF’s semiconductor manufacturing capabilities stringent security processes, equipment and oversight in place to accept and protect sensitive information and manufactured chips to ensure they are secure and uncompromised.
Chuck Schumer, U.S. Senate Majority leader, said the partnership brings two companies from the upstate New York region and the collaboration will be used to help keep the country and troops safe.
“I wrote my CHIPS & Science Act to spark partnerships like this that will secure our domestic supply chains and lead to job growth and investment in places like Upstate New York,” Schumer said. “Now more than ever, we need to secure our supply chains, and make sure the chips that our military relies on are built in places like the Capital Region, not overseas, and GlobalFoundries and Lockheed Martin are leading the charge to ensure that we build America’s tech future here in Upstate NY.”
