Trusted & Assured Microelectronics

The Trusted and Assured Microelectronics program, managed by the Office of the Secretary of Defense, is a comprehensive initiative designed to modernize and secure the Department of Defense's (DoD) access to advanced microelectronics technologies. The overarching goal is to ensure the U.S. military maintains technological superiority, reduces reliance on obsolete or foreign microelectronics, and protects the integrity and supply chain of critical components. This program directly supports the DoD's modernization priorities, including the development of a resilient Joint Force, by fostering domestic innovation, establishing secure manufacturing pathways, and enabling rapid adoption of state-of-the-art (SOTA) commercial and dual-use microelectronics technologies.

Access to State-of-the-Art (SOTA) Microelectronics Development focuses on ensuring the DoD has enduring and assured access to leading-edge domestic microelectronics manufacturing and design capabilities. The objectives include establishing partnerships with U.S. foundries, developing secure design environments, and leveraging commercial electronic design automation (EDA) tools and process development kits (PDKs) for advanced chip design and fabrication. The program supports initiatives to provide DoD and the Defense Industrial Base with access to U.S.-based foundries capable of producing advanced integrated circuits at scale. Additionally, the program advances software assurance (SwA) and hardware assurance (HwA) through the Joint Federated Assurance Center (JFAC), providing tools, training, and best practices to mitigate vulnerabilities in the microelectronics supply chain.

Access to Advanced Packaging and Testing Development addresses the DoD's need for modern, domestically sourced advanced packaging solutions that improve performance, reduce size, weight, power, and cost (SWaP-C), and enable secure integration of chiplets. The program collaborates with industry to develop and qualify heterogeneous integrated (HI) packaging and testing capabilities, such as those provided under advanced packaging contracts. Key objectives include developing secure, ITAR-compliant packaging processes, expanding access to advanced packaging facilities, and accelerating the adoption of chiplet-based architectures for both digital and radio frequency (RF) applications.

The program also emphasizes workforce development and the creation of a sustainable domestic packaging ecosystem.

DOD Unique Needs RADHARD is dedicated to sustaining and advancing the U.S. capability to design and manufacture radiation-hardened microelectronics for space, strategic, and other harsh environment applications. The program supports the development of application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), and other components that meet stringent radiation tolerance requirements. Efforts include maturing state-of-the-art RF Gallium Nitride (GaN) and integrated photonics technologies, developing radiation-hardened by process (RHBP) and radiation-hardened by design (RHBD) techniques, and ensuring the availability of secure domestic supply chains for these specialized components.

The program also funds workforce development and rapid prototyping efforts to address emerging needs in artificial intelligence (AI) and edge computing.

ME U.S. ME Dominance Development aims to secure U.S. leadership in microelectronics innovation by establishing an evidence-based assured microelectronics pipeline. The program supports strategic partnerships through the JFAC, enhances supply chain awareness and security, and promotes workforce development to address long-term talent needs. A key objective is to develop and implement a risk-based assurance paradigm that protects intellectual property (IP) and mitigates supply chain threats without impeding access to commercial technologies. The program also funds the development of assurance tools, best practices, and policy frameworks to ensure the security and reliability of both custom and commercial microelectronics used by the DoD.

Defense Microelectronics Cross-Functional Team (CFT) was established to develop and coordinate a DoD-wide strategy for minimizing vulnerabilities in the microelectronics supply chain. The CFT provides advisory support to senior DoD leadership, develops comprehensive transition and budget plans, and works to strengthen the domestic microelectronics ecosystem. Although funding for this line item concludes in FY 2025, the CFT's work has contributed to the alignment of government and industry efforts to ensure the DoD's long-term access to critical microelectronics technologies.