US DoD Awards IBM $275M Contract to Enable “Trusted” Semiconductor Manufacturing

IBM Global Business Services is being awarded a $275,000,000 contract is to enable “trusted” manufacturing flows in contractor semiconductor fabrication facilities for US Department of Defence (DoD) programs.

The contract is to enable a wide-range of associated leading-edge semiconductor technologies and services; and to create a trusted supply chain with the contractor, fully certified and accredited, to deliver classified and trusted mask and wafer fabrication within an “open” commercial environment, a USD DoD announcement said.

This program provides the additional layer of security to the commercial environment that permits government access to advanced technology manufacturing capabilities for trusted and classified programs.

In addition, the program provides subject matter expertise and consulting services to assess and propose additional tasking for the enablement, support, or accreditation of new facilities, systems, tools and processes to further the strategic goals of the Defense MicroElectronics Activity (DMEA) in advanced semiconductor technologies.

The Defense Microelectronics Activity (DMEA) was founded because technological superiority is the essential underpinning of U.S. military strategy and national security, according DEMA information.

The Trump administration has identified foreign-sourced commercial off-the-shelf semiconductors as a possible source of information compromise and had vowed to plug the gap.