Last control chips for the B-2

[Ale-8(1)]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/pentagon-swoops-in-to-buy-last-of-kind-chips-for-b-2-destroyer/ar-AAQrqIv?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531

Pentagon Swoops In to Buy Last-of-Kind Chips for B-2

The Pentagon plans to place as much as $2 billion in rush orders by early March for customized semiconductors used in weapons like the B-2 bomber before the production line for them is shut down.

GlobalFoundries Inc. has sold the factory in Fishkill, New York, that produces the specialized chips used in GPS-dependent systems, and the new owner won’t be making them.

GlobalFoundries’s $430 million sale of its specialized fabrication, or “Fab 10,” facility to On Semiconductor Corp. is driving these “end-of-life” orders, the company said in a statement.

GlobalFoundries operates manufacturing facilities in the U.S., Europe, and Asia, and it says as many as 250 companies are customers. The company is based in Santa Clara, California, but Mubadala Investment Co., the investment arm of the government of Abu Dhabi, owns 80% of the company.

 

[arfmel]

Well, at least it isn’t the Chinese buying it, which is actually surprising.

 

[Dave P.]

Ok place a 2 Billion ( with a B ) order for chips or BUY the whole production facility for 430 Million.....
I know it's not really that simple but sometimes wonder if our military should just manufacture it's
own toys in some cases.
Dave

 

[Jeepnik]

Ok place a 2 Billion ( with a B ) order for chips or BUY the whole production facility for 430 Million.....
I know it's not really that simple but sometimes wonder if our military should just manufacture it's
own toys in some cases.
Dave

Used to have these things called U.S. Armories where firearms and such were made. I strongly suspect they went away when greedy politicians started demanding using private sector companies to supply the same items.

 

[eveled]

It’s crazy they don’t take it over in the interest of National security. Why buy a company then stop making the product? This all makes no sense. I’m hoping it’s not as stupid as it seems and that we don’t have the whole story.

 

[RSIno1]

Why buy a company then stop making the product? This all makes no sense. I’m hoping it’s not as stupid as it seems and that we don’t have the whole story.

Chip tech marches on. These were probably designed 30 years ago. .gov is probably the only ones still using them. Same thing befell Ford these past couple years when their suppliers closed due to Covid and other suppliers couldn't fill the gap due to having updated equipment that could no longer produce the old style chips Ford was using.

Well, at least it isn’t the Chinese buying it, which is actually surprising.

They can build new cheaper - they already stole all the tech. GM sold them an entire car plant - before GM engineers could set up the used plant China had copied the tooling and had 3 other plants up and running. It's easy today to scan something and stick it into a 5 axis mill to spit out copies all day long. A friend had stuff made in China he called his rep the R&D guy - Ripoff & Duplicate.

 

[Rick Courtright]

Hi,

My brother in law's Dad had a radio/TV repair shop on the side for many years. When he passed in the early '90s, BIL asked if I could help his Mom find a new home for the 100s, maybe 1000s, of vacuum tubes out in the garage. It took a while until I found a collector/fix-it buff in OK who took them all. Mom was surprised at the size of the check he sent!

After that, I was talking with my neighbor, a retired air traffic controller. He asked if I knew who the largest buyer of vacuum tubes in this country was at the time. He said it was the FAA!

And they were all made in Russia... Maybe there's a lesson in there.

Rick C

 

[ptypegreen]

Part of the problem for the military in general and I know for the nuclear US Navy in particular is the testing and analyzing of components for reliability and the effect on ship and reactor safety in "what if this or that fails" scenarios. Prior to building the first ship in a class these analysis have to take place with what exists at the time, then freeze the design so there is time to build and install it in the ship. By the time the first submarine in class goes to sea the newest technology in the engine room is at least 7-8 years old. The real problem is not the initial build, but in keeping an inventory of spare parts. In the forward end of the sub some of the electronics in sensor suites may be newer. In the engine room reliability beats whiz-bang all the time, in sensors such as sonar, cutting closer to the edge may be important just to have some whiz bang small advantage over the other guy. My first boat in the 1980s was built in the early 1960s, most of the reactor plant "electronics" used magnetic amplifiers, which are large, heavy, and power hungry. Before semi-conductors the only alternative was vacuum tubes, which have zero shock resistance.
There was one model of Fluke multimeters which had made it thru the vigorous testing to be used by the Reactor Operator technitions to do maintenance, replacing several pieces of inflexible analog equipment. Like everything else in the world but quicker in the electronics industry the manufacturers are constantly updating, obsoleting and replacing models on a yearly or less timeframe, way shorter than the lifecycle on the ship. The Navy bought a ton of the certified model, but eventually units fail and spares run out, and the process repeats, hopefully in time. When onboard equipment is updated via ship alterations there is still the same time lag to evaluate, freeze the design, procure, build and finally install, 7 to 8 years again. The revolution in electronics is great for consumers, and a huge challenge for the military. The Federal bureaucracy gums up the works even more.