Intel won the US Department of Defense foundry project, Will lead the first phase of the RAMP-C program

Intel announced that it has signed an agreement with the US Department of Defense, and its Intel Foundry Services (IFS) will provide commercial foundry services for the first phase of the “Rapid Assured Microelectronics Prototypes – Commercial (RAMP-C)” program. The plan is to use a commercial semiconductor foundry located in the United States to manufacture custom integrated circuits and commercial products required for critical systems of the Department of Defense.

Image: Intel Corporation

“The RAMP-C program will enable both commercial foundry customers and the Department of Defense to take advantage of Intel’s significant investments in leading-edge process technologies,” said Randhir Thakur, Intel Foundry Services president. “Along with our customers and ecosystem partners, including IBM, Cadence, Synopsys and others, we will help bolster the domestic semiconductor supply chain and ensure the United States maintains leadership in both R&D and advanced manufacturing. We look forward to a long-term collaboration with the U.S. government as we deliver RAMP-C program milestones.”

The RAMP-C plan will be carried out in multiple phases, and Intel Foundry Services will lead the first phase of the plan to establish a commercial foundry infrastructure in the United States. The goal of the entire RAMP-C plan is to strengthen the supply chain security of the US government and strengthen the US leadership in all aspects of integrated circuit design, manufacturing, and packaging. In addition to Intel, many companies including IBM, Cadence, and Synopsys will provide relevant expertise and technology for the project.

Since Intel announced its “IDM 2.0” strategy, Intel has planned to substantially expand its production capacity to become a major supplier of foundry services in the US, including the investment of about $20 billion to build two new wafer fabs in the Ocotillo campus in Arizona, U.S. Intel’s Fab 42 wafer fab is currently manufacturing microprocessors using a 10nm process.

At the beginning of this year, another foundry, GlobalFoundries, also announced that it will establish a strategic partnership with the US Department of Defense to provide safe and reliable semiconductor solutions. According to the cooperation plan between the two parties, GlobalFoundries will be responsible for production at the Fab 8 fab in New York.