BAE Systems has secured funding from the U.S. Department of Commerce to upgrade its Nashua, New Hampshire-located Microelectronics Center.
This $35 million investment marks the first round of funding issued under the CHIPS and Science Act, which aims to bolster domestic microelectronics supply chains, the company announced on Monday.
“Microelectronics are at the heart of the technology and products we make for our defense and aerospace customers – from next-generation aircraft and satellites to military-grade GPS and secure communications,” said BAE Systems President and CEO Tom Arseneault, a two-time Wash100 Award winner.
He said that the funds will “fulfill the promise of the CHIPS and Science Act” by helping the organization expand its ability to support defense initiatives, cultivate its technical workforce and invigorate the onshore supply chain.
The Microelectronics Center is a Department of Defense-accredited semiconductor chip fabrication and foundry facility used to manufacture military-grade semiconductor technologies. The 110,000 square foot installation is one of few domestic defense-centric six-inch Gallium Arsenide and Gallium Nitride High Electron Mobility Transistor wafer foundries.
Part of the funding was provided by local and state governments, and the City of Nashua and the state of New Hampshire are offering tuition assistance and a new clean room training course at Nashua Community College to build up the semiconductor workforce.
BAE Systems will supplement the allocations with its continuous investments in modernization and research and development. With the funds, the enterprise aims to boost its production capacity, decrease build times and reduce supply chain risk through the purchase of modern manufacturing technologies.
Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo emphasized the CHIPS for America Program’s intent to enhance national security and domestic supply chains while strengthening the economy and job market.
“As national security becomes as much about the chips inside of our weapons systems as the weapons systems themselves, this first CHIPS announcement shows how central semiconductors are to our national defense,” she added.
Microelectronics are a key focus area in current DOD R&D initiatives. Learn more about the department’s technology priorities at the Potomac Officers Club’s 10th Annual Defense R&D Summit on Jan. 31, 2024. Heidi Shyu, under secretary of defense for research and engineering, will deliver the opening keynote address. To learn more and register to attend, click here.