The Brains Behind Military Electronics: Custom ASIC Chips | Northrop Grumman (2024)

Challenges of ASICs for Defense

Even under normal circ*mstances, ASICs are tricky to design, given their application-specific requirements for weight and power. Engineers must determine the exact shape of components such as transistors that will achieve the end goals, all while working at the nanometer scale.

When you add security and other military requirements and smaller production volumes, you create an extremely difficult problem to solve.

"Not only is designing an ASIC extremely difficult," says Mary Buonomo, manager of Digital Subsystems, "But it's even harder in our world because we do not have room for error."

Commercial electronics are typically designed to last just a few years. But military electronic systems need to last a few decades. The ASICs go inside vehicles and other equipment that will be deployed to remote locations for 20 or even 30 years. The high tech chips must also be resilient enough to withstand high altitudes and extreme environments, such as deserts and the coldest uninhabited regions. For military devices, reliability and dependability are matters of life and death.

"If our stuff doesn't work then our war fighters are seriously in trouble," says Kober. "Their lives are dependent on things behaving the way they're supposed to."

Plus, these tiny chips have to be physically secure. While the chips inside consumer goods are designed to prevent individual hackers from accessing them, Northrop Grumman's chips must be secure against bad actors. Tom Volpe, Northrop Grumman Fellow adds, "There are people who try to reverse-engineer physical devices to extract contents from them. Our goal is to craft a design of our processing product in such a way such that if any form of reverse engineering is applied, it does not successfully yield information."

The Brains Behind Military Electronics: Custom ASIC Chips | Northrop Grumman (2024)

FAQs

Who makes microchips for US military? ›

As per the report from Bloomberg, the US government is set to invest USD 3.5 billion in Intel to enhance the production capacity of advanced chips for military and intelligence purposes. Reportedly, the move is potentially positioning Intel as a leading semiconductor provider in the defense market.

Who makes ASIC chips? ›

Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) Manufacturer Ranking
RankCompanyClick Share
1ASIX Electronics42.1%
2STMicroelectronics19.0%
3Faraday Technology Corporation10.3%
4ams-OSRAM AG6.9%
6 more rows

What does Northrop Grumman make for the military? ›

Northrop Grumman designs and produces missile products including and advanced high-speed propulsion systems, fuzes, warheads and controls for air, sea and land-based systems.

Does Grumman still exist? ›

Northrop Grumman continues to expand and broaden our presence in global markets and strengthen our partnerships with local industry. In addition to the United States, our focus countries are Australia, the United Kingdom, Japan, South Korea and the Middle East.

Where does US military get its chips? ›

Years ago, Intel bought FPGA supplier Altera, which uses TSMC to make the programmable chips that are easily modified yet lag the performance of ASICs. The DoD is forced to rely on FPGAs because it can't find a large foundry like TSMC or Samsung to make custom ASICs for its weapons systems.

Who makes the most advanced microchips in the world? ›

TSMC, or Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, is the world's largest and most advanced contract chip manufacturer.

Who makes the best ASIC chips? ›

Bitmain Antminer S19j Pro+ – The best ASIC miners overall. MicroBT WhatsMiner M50S – An excellent all-around option. Bitmain Antminer S19 XP – A highly efficient ASIC rig. Bitmain AntMiner S19 Pro – A relatively cheap option for those just starting out with BTC mining.

Who makes military grade chips? ›

There is more than TSMC produces its computer chips for beyond artificial intelligence. They also produce semiconductors for the DOD (U.S. Department of Defense) for their many military-grade devices, including F-35 fighters.

Does Intel make ASIC chips? ›

Intel Blockscale ASICs are built for the demanding environment of cryptocurrency mining. Each ASIC has built-in temperature and voltage sensor capabilities.

Did Lockheed Martin buy Northrop Grumman? ›

("Lockheed Martin Merger Sub"), a Delaware corporation and wholly-owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin, provides for the merger (the "Merger") of Lockheed Martin Merger Sub with and into Northrop Grumman, with Northrop Grumman surviving as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin.

Who made the F-14 Tomcat? ›

The F-14D(R) Tomcat is a supersonic, twin-engine, variable sweep-wing, two-place strike fighter manufactured by Grumman Aircraft Corporation.

Who builds U.S. military aircraft? ›

Air Force
AircraftManufacturerRole
F-15EX Eagle IIMcDonnell Douglas/BoeingMultirole, primarily strike
F-16C/D Fighting FalconGeneral DynamicsMultirole
F-22A RaptorLockheed MartinAir superiority
F-35A Lightning IILockheed MartinMultirole
52 more rows

Why did Grumman go out of business? ›

Grumman's downfall came in the 1980's, with the collapse of Communism. When the cold war ended, so did the arms and space races. As military spending plummeted on Long Island, Grumman shrank drastically and in 1994 was swallowed up by the Northrop Corporation, based in Los Angeles.

Who bought out Grumman? ›

The end of the Cold War at the beginning of the 1990s reduced defense spending and led to a wave of mergers as aerospace companies shrank in number; in 1994 Northrop bought Grumman for $2.1 billion to form Northrop Grumman, after Northrop topped a $1.9 billion offer from Martin Marietta.

Is Lockheed Martin or Northrop Grumman better? ›

Lockheed Martin Corp has a Quality Score of 79, which is Strong. Northrop Grumman Corp has a Quality Score of 69, which is Strong.

Does the US military use Chinese chips? ›

According to Govini, the U.S.' newest Ford-class aircraft carriers depend on over 6,500 Chinese-sourced semiconductors to operate. Many other U.S. Navy ships and aircraft are similarly dependent on thousands of Chinese semiconductors to function as instruments of U.S. defense and power projection.

Who manufactures US military equipment? ›

The top 5 for 2022 are as follows: Lockheed Martin, RTX, Northrop Grumman, Aviation Industry Corporation, and Boeing.

Are there any US based chip manufacturers? ›

Top Semiconductor Manufacturers in the US
CityNumber of EmployeesCompany
San Diego5279QUALCOMM, Inc.
Austin5000NXP Semiconductors USA, Inc.
Austin3500Samsung Austin Semiconductor, LLC
Tempe5000Amkor Technology, Inc.
6 more rows
Jan 2, 2024

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