The United States Department of Defense has sounded the alarm about our growing reliance on foreign-made semiconductors. In its annual Industrial Capabilities Report to Congress, it identifies the continued decline of U.S. semiconductor manufacturing as a “serious threat to the economic prosperity and national security of the U.S.” This threat will only become more pronounced as emergent technologies like the Internet of Things (IoT) and AI require large quantities of semiconductors. The Pentagon also points out that while other countries have provided significant incentives to their semiconductor manufacturers, U.S. semiconductor manufacturing growth lags behind these countries because of a lack of federal incentives. The DoD has several programs to address the issue of insufficient US-made chips, but also concludes that targeted Congressional action would begin to combat the problem.
Key Points
The U.S. Department of Defense sees the decline in domestically produced semiconductors as a significant risk to national security
Targeted legislative action could help