DoD is playing catch up with microelectronics supply

The Defense Department is concerned about the dwindling number of domestic microelectronic manufactures after being forced to rely on a single, foreign-owned provider for its needs.

Spurred by a lack of domestic manufacturers and the uncertainty of a single-source provider, DOD is now conducting an industrial base study on the microchips and circuits used in hardware to lay a foundation with key industry players, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Manufacturing and Industrial Base Policy Andre Gudger told lawmakers Oct. 28.

“At the study’s conclusion, the team will recommend strategies to the department’s requirements while addressing a sustainable commercial strategy for the future. Additionally, the department is taking steps to proactively identify our current and future critical suppliers and fragile sectors like that of the microelectronics industry,” Gudger said before the House Armed Services subcommittee on oversight and investigations.

Continue reading at http://federalnewsradio.com/defense/2015/10/dod-playing-catch-microelectronics-supply/.