May 12, 2020 | International, C4ISR, Security
By: The Associated Press
NEW YORK — Intel and a Taiwanese company are talking to the Trump administration about building new semiconductor plants in the United States amid concern about relying on suppliers in Asia for chips used in a wide variety of electronics.
A spokesman for Intel, the biggest American chip maker, said Sunday that the company is in discussions with the U.S. Defense Department about improving domestic technology sources.
Spokesman William Moss said Santa Clara, California-based Intel is well-positioned to work with the government “to operate a U.S.-owned commercial foundry.”
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. is open to building a plant outside of Taiwan and has talked with the Commerce Department, a spokeswoman said.
“We are actively evaluating all the suitable locations, including in the U.S., but there is no concrete plan yet,” said the TSMC spokeswoman, Nina Kao.
The discussions were first reported by The Wall Street Journal, which said TSMC is also talking with Apple Inc., one of its biggest customers, about building a plant in the U.S.
The newspaper said the coronavirus pandemic has heightened worries about global supply chains, and that U.S. officials are particularly concerned about the growing reliance on Taiwan, the self-ruled island that is claimed by China.
Intel CEO Bob Swan said in a letter last month to two Pentagon officials that strengthening U.S. production “is more important than ever, given the uncertainty created by the current geopolitical environment.” He said it would be in the best interests of the United States and Intel to explore how the company could build a plant.
Concern about relying so heavily on chips from Taiwan, South Korea and China started even before the coronavirus outbreak.
The Pentagon and the Government Accountability Office issued reports on the matter last year. The GAO said that when U.S. companies shift operations overseas it can mean lower prices for components and technology used in weapons systems. However, having global sources “can also make it harder for [the Pentagon] to get what it needs if, for example, other countries cut off U.S. access to critical supplies,” the GAO said in a report last September.
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The surface fleet is clear on what capabilities it will develop in the next three five-year budgeting periods, even as future force plans are under review.
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The 31st MEU continued the Marine Corps' push to experiment with expeditionary advanced base operations during its two deployments in 2023.
February 12, 2021 | International, Aerospace
By: Aaron Mehta WASHINGTON — The Biden administration has approved three Foreign Military Sales requests for Jordan, Chile and a NATO agency, with a combined potential price tag of more than $200 million. The approvals mark the first FMS cases moved since President Joe Biden took office. The last FMS cases approved by the State Department came in late December; the Biden team has since announced a pause and review of a number of weapon sales approved by the Trump administration, most notably on weapons purchased by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The three approvals were announced on the website of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency. DSCA announcements mean that the State Department has decided the potential FMS cases meet its standards, but this does not guarantee the sales will happen in their announced forms. If the U.S. Congress does not object, the foreign customer begins to negotiate on price and quantity, both of which can change during the final negotiations. Jordan was approved for an F-16 Air Combat Training Center and related equipment, with an estimated cost of $60 million. That package would include “mission trainers, combat tactics trainers, instructor/operator stations, tactical environment simulators, brief/debrief stations, scenario generation stations, database generation stations, mission observation centers, and other training center equipment and support,” per the DSCA notice. The center would “enhance” Jordan's pilot training for their fleet of F-16s, the oldest of which entered service in 1997. Work will primarily be done at Lockheed Martin's Rotary & Mission Systems center in Orlando, Fla. Chile was approved to purchase up to 16 Standard Missile-2 (SM-2) Block IIIA missiles, along with support equipment and contractor assistance, with an estimate price tag of $85 million. The anti-air weapons are slated to be used aboard two recently transferred former Adelaide-class frigates to the Chilean Navy. Work would be preformed by Raytheon Missiles and Defense in Tucson, Ariz. The NATO alliance's Communications and Information Agency to buy 517 AN/PRC-158 Manpack UHF SATCOM radio systems, worth an estimated $65 million. Also included in the package would be “crypto fill devices, man-portable ancillaries, vehicular ancillaries, deployed Headquarter ancillaries, power support, and operator and maintenance training,” per the DSCA notice. The sale would “ensure NATO warfighters have access to the latest C3I systems and technologies, and will be interoperable with U.S. forces,” the announcement states. “An updated UHF TACSAT radios in the hands of NATO allies and partners will offer significant C3I capabilities at all echelons, from the operational level down to the lowest small unit tactical formation.” https://www.defensenews.com/global/the-americas/2021/02/11/state-clears-first-three-foreign-military-sales-of-biden-administration/