BAE Systems significantly accelerates chip production for mission-critical defense programs using CHIPS Act funding

BAE Systems' investment to modernize its Nashua, New Hampshire Microelectronics Center (MEC), supported in part by the CHIPS Act, will purchase new, more efficient manufacturing tools to significantly increase production capacity, markedly speed delivery, and substantially reduce costs for Department of Defense chip production for the U.S. Air Force, Army, Navy, and Marines. The modernization will unlock major efficiencies in U.S. defense production, serve our warfighters with state-of-the-art technology, and yield high returns for the American taxpayer.

BAE Systems' MEC is a 110,000-square-foot, Department of Defense (DoD)-accredited, semiconductor chip fabrication and foundry facility that produces technology for DoD applications. It develops advanced semiconductor technologies beyond those available commercially to meet demanding military requirements and is one of the only domestic defense-centric six-inch Gallium Arsenide (GaAs) and Gallium Nitride (GaN) High Electron Mobility Transistor (HEMT) wafer foundries.

The modernization of the MEC is a vital investment in America's national security and will support mission-critical DoD and aerospace programs — from next-generation aircraft and satellites to secure communications. BAE Systems' investment will also create skilled manufacturing jobs reinforcing an ongoing commitment to investing in American workers.