Pentagon swoops in to buy last-of-kind chips for B-2 bomber
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 Stripes. Continue 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.
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Jamie Whitney, Associate Editor
Intelligent Aerospace