Pentagon swoops in to buy last-of-kind chips for B-2 bomber

Nov. 18, 2021
The $885 million was the only Pentagon-related exception that the White House budget office asked Congress to approve in its stopgap spending measure, Tony Cappacio reports for Stripes.

WASHINGTON - The Pentagon plans to place as much as $2 billion in rush orders by early March for customized semiconductors used in weapons such as the B-2 bomber before the production line for them is shut down, Tony Capaccio reports for StripesContinue reading original article.

The Intelligent Aerospace take:

NOVEMBER 18, 2021 - GlobalFoundries has sold the factory in Fishkill, N.Y., that produces the customized chips used in GPS-dependent systems, and the new owner won’t be making them.

The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) is confronting its looming supply crunch amid a global shortage of the chips used in consumer items from mobile phones to autonomous vehicles, markets where GlobalFoundries is expanding its production.

Under a stopgap spending bill passed by Congress, an initial $885 million in orders would be placed by 15 Dec. with U.S. contractors who depend on the semiconductors so that they can contract a substantial share of the total with GlobalFoundries.

Related: Air Force speeds-up B-21 to bring 'breakthrough - next gen' stealth tech

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Related: What it takes to keep the B-2 bomber flying

Jamie Whitney, Associate Editor
Intelligent Aerospace

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