Defense MicroElectronics Activity (DMEA)
Abstract
DMEA maintains an in-house ability to quickly develop and deliver timely, cost-effective, technically appropriate solutions to sustain weapon systems, to modernize their capabilities, increase their lethality, address new threats, and meet operational demands. These funds also support DMEA’s ability to partner with industry, other Government agencies, and academia to enable streamlined access to a variety of microelectronics technologies and engineering services. These funds enable DMEA to provide increasingly rare government microelectronics design, fabrication, and test expertise to DoD programs. DMEA’s knowledge of varying military requirements across a broad and diverse range of combatant environments and missions—along with its unique technical perspective—allows it to develop, manage and deliver novel, decisive, quick-turn microelectronics solutions for defense, intelligence, special operations, cyber and combat missions. These funds allow DMEA to maintain and enhance critical, microelectronics design, aggregation, fabrication, post-processing, assembly, hardware assurance and analysis capabilities to ensure that the Department is provided with solutions that enable or maintain the warfighter’s technological superiority over potential adversaries. These solutions use high mix, low volume, unique microelectronics that are endemic to military requirements but are not commercially available. In addition, funding provides for the development and sustainment support necessary to ensure availability of microelectronics technologies in accordance with applicable operational security standards, particularly as the technologies advance and industry is increasingly unable or unwilling to provide them. The Department, other US Agencies, and the Intelligence Community require uninterrupted access to design and manufacturing processes to produce custom integrated circuits designed specifically for military purposes. DMEA partners with industry to provide the required solutions, and the necessary access to commercial SOTA microelectronics design and manufacturing capabilities to meet confidentiality, integrity, availability, performance and delivery needs. If industry cannot or will not provide the required solutions, only then does DMEA provide the necessary solutions using in-house capabilities. A critical element required to enable continued success is DMEA’s protection of the industry partners’ valuable Intellectual Property (IP). DMEA is an agile, Government-owned-and-operated organization, providing the structure and confidence necessary to assure them that commercial IP is protected from potential competitors. This strategic and cooperative industry partnership approach allows DMEA to use industry-developed IP by acquiring, installing, and applying them toward meeting the immediate and long-term needs of the Department. This unique capability is essential to all major weapon systems, combat operations, and support needs. As such, DMEA serves the Department, other US Agencies, industry and Allied nations. DMEA assists hundreds of Department programs every year. DMEA has provided its specialized engineering assistance and capabilities to older systems, current systems, and even to programs not yet in the production phase. Programs that DMEA has recently provided critical support to include CH-53E Sea Stallion, Virginia Class Submarines, Columbia Class Submarines, UH-60 Blackhawk, Air Force Air Combat Command, US Army Corps of Engineers, E-3 AWACS, C5ISREW CHEETAH, Military GPS User Equipment, NASA Parker Solar Probe, Naval Research Laboratory High Power Microwave Office, among many others. DMEA assists the Combatant Commands (COCOMs) including Special Operations, Intelligence, and the Radiation-Hard communities.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Project
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 2023
- Source ID
- 004_0603720S_3_0400_PB_2023
Related Documents
- Root: Microelectronics Technology Development and Support (DMEA)
- Child Accomplishment: Defense Microelectronics Activity Accomplishments/Plans