The Department of Defense (DoD) and the Department of Commerce have awarded chip-making giant Intel Corp. up to $3 billion to boost advanced semiconductor production for the U.S. military and strengthen the supply chain of those types of semiconductors for national security.
The funding, provided through the CHIPS and Science Act approved by Congress in 2022, is being allocated to the Secure Enclave program, which seeks to build a comprehensive semiconductor production capability for military needs. The DoD will oversee the program in partnership with the Commerce Department.
The funding will enhance commercial fabrication facilities and “support the manufacturing of microelectronics and ensure access to a domestic supply chain of advanced semiconductors for national security,” according to the agencies’ Sept. 16 announcement.
The project aims to address the Pentagon’s difficulty in obtaining trustworthy high-end microchips and builds on DoD’s ongoing efforts to tackle this challenge.
Last year, DoD received $2 billion in CHIPS and Science Act funding which it used to establish the Microelectronics Commons – a national network of academic institutions, small businesses, and research entities focused on advancing microelectronics technology from the lab to prototyping and scaled production.
The Secure Enclave project is separate from Microelectronics Commons.
The new CHIPS and Science Act funding is not the first time that Intel has participated in other Pentagon-led initiatives to enhance the microelectronics supply chain.
In 2020, the company joined DoD’s State-of-the-Art Heterogeneous Integrated Packaging Program, utilizing its production capabilities. Additionally, Intel was chosen for the Rapid Assured Microelectronics Prototypes-Commercial program to highlight secure use of advanced microelectronics technologies without relying on closed security fabrication facilities.
