BAE Systems Semiconductor Facility Accredited as DoD Trusted Supplier

NASHUA, New Hampshire — The Pentagon’s Defense Microelectronics Activity has accredited BAE Systems’ microelectronics foundry in Nashua as a trusted supplier of microelectronics for the U.S. Department of Defense and other government customers.

The company’s Microelectronics Center is the second BAE Systems semiconductor facility to achieve trusted status. The company’s Semiconductor Technology Center in Manassas, Virginia, which develops and produces radiation-hardened and other silicon-based technologies, was accredited as a trusted source in December 2006.

“Achieving trusted supplier status recognizes the Microelectronics Center’s continuing role as a provider of critical semiconductor components for the DoD,” said Scott Powell, director of the New Hampshire facility. The foundry’s capabilities include monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMICs) and other devices based on two compound semiconductor materials — gallium arsenide and gallium nitride.

The DoD established the Trusted-Foundry Program in response to the industry-wide migration of semiconductor fabrication facilities offshore and the need for qualified domestic sources to develop and produce the specialized integrated circuits required for national security applications.

BAE Systems has produced compound semiconductor MMICs and devices in its Nashua facility for more than 20 years for use in the company’s electronic warfare, communications, radar, and weapon systems.