Worried About Chinese Backdoors, Lord Pushes For New Tech Strategy

WASHINGTON: The Pentagon’s top acquisition official says the military is doubling down on efforts to move microelectronics manufacturing away from China, citing worries about the security of supply chains.

A full 75% of microelectronics manufacturing and 98% of packaging takes place in Asia, acquisition boss Ellen Lord said at the ComDef conference today. “While the U.S. continues to serve as the leader in microelectronics research and development,” Lord said, “our lack of ability to manufacture, package and test, has resulted in the loss of employment opportunities, economic growth and the lack of ability to fulfill DoD requirements.” LINK