5 ms·

NSA could have its own fabs for that kind of budget. Some people believe that they do, or at one time did. My guess is that they'd probably just prefer to book

NSA could have its own fabs for that kind of budget. Some people believe that they do, or at one time did. My guess is that they'd probably just prefer to book a midnight run on US industry fabs these days.

gonzo 13y ago
NSA has its own fab, located at Ft. Meade.
- wyck 13y ago
  Besides Forte Meade, the NSA recently purchased the Sony chip fabrication plant in San Antonio (94,000-square-foot) and has business connections with many manufacturers including National Semiconductor/Texas Instruments. Info on Fort meade: http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=110&dat=19890417&id=Ye8LAAAAIBAJ&sjid=61UDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6935,1362299 http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=110&dat=19890417&id=Ye... San Antonia former Sony plant: http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/NSA-plant-in-San-Antonio-shrouded-in-secrecy-4604109.php http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/NSA-...
  - marshray 13y ago
    So they may have built a plant in 1989 when they were 60,000 ft2 and $85M, unless that was misdirection simply to mess with the Soviets. (Notice the conveniently placed infographic right underneath the article). Twenty-five years of Moore's law later the price and complexity of an operational chip foundry has doubled similar to transistor count. The former Sony plant is 633,000 ft2, reportedly valued as $72M and being leased at $35/ft2. I don't see any evidence they're using it for anything other than datacenter and office space.
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]
wmf 13y ago
The Trusted Foundry Program isn't even a secret. (Unless you believe it's some kind of misdirection.)
- WestCoastJustin 13y ago
  Never heard of it before, here are the results of my google search for anyone interested: The Trusted Foundry Program (TFP) was established as a joint effort between Department of Defense and National Security Agency ... in response to Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz’s 2003 Defense Trusted IC Strategy memo - Program is administered by NSA’s Trusted Access Program Office (TAPO) - DoD component resides in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, ASD R&E and is managed by Defense Microelectronics Activity (DMEA) By the end of the program in FY2013, DoD will have invested >$700M to ensure access to microelectronics services and manufacturing for a wide array of devices with feature sizes down to 32nm on 300 mm wafers Program Provides National Security And Defense Programs With Access To Semiconductor Integrated Circuits From Secure Sources [1] http://www.ndia.org/Divisions/Divisions/SystemsEngineering/Documents/Past%20Meetings/06-20-12%20Division%20Meeting/04%20-%20Trusted%20Foundry%20Program,%20Ortiz,%20NDIA%20SE%20Talk%2020120620%20cjo2.pdf http://www.ndia.org/Divisions/Divisions/SystemsEngineering/D...

gonzo 13y ago

NSA has its own fab, located at Ft. Meade.

wyck 13y ago
Besides Forte Meade, the NSA recently purchased the Sony chip fabrication plant in San Antonio (94,000-square-foot) and has business connections with many manufacturers including National Semiconductor/Texas Instruments. Info on Fort meade: http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=110&dat=19890417&id=Ye8LAAAAIBAJ&sjid=61UDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6935,1362299 http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=110&dat=19890417&id=Ye... San Antonia former Sony plant: http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/NSA-plant-in-San-Antonio-shrouded-in-secrecy-4604109.php http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/NSA-...
- marshray 13y ago
  So they may have built a plant in 1989 when they were 60,000 ft2 and $85M, unless that was misdirection simply to mess with the Soviets. (Notice the conveniently placed infographic right underneath the article). Twenty-five years of Moore's law later the price and complexity of an operational chip foundry has doubled similar to transistor count. The former Sony plant is 633,000 ft2, reportedly valued as $72M and being leased at $35/ft2. I don't see any evidence they're using it for anything other than datacenter and office space.
deleted 13y ago
[deleted]

wmf 13y ago

The Trusted Foundry Program isn't even a secret. (Unless you believe it's some kind of misdirection.)

WestCoastJustin 13y ago
Never heard of it before, here are the results of my google search for anyone interested: The Trusted Foundry Program (TFP) was established as a joint effort between Department of Defense and National Security Agency ... in response to Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz’s 2003 Defense Trusted IC Strategy memo - Program is administered by NSA’s Trusted Access Program Office (TAPO) - DoD component resides in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, ASD R&E and is managed by Defense Microelectronics Activity (DMEA) By the end of the program in FY2013, DoD will have invested >$700M to ensure access to microelectronics services and manufacturing for a wide array of devices with feature sizes down to 32nm on 300 mm wafers Program Provides National Security And Defense Programs With Access To Semiconductor Integrated Circuits From Secure Sources [1] http://www.ndia.org/Divisions/Divisions/SystemsEngineering/Documents/Past%20Meetings/06-20-12%20Division%20Meeting/04%20-%20Trusted%20Foundry%20Program,%20Ortiz,%20NDIA%20SE%20Talk%2020120620%20cjo2.pdf http://www.ndia.org/Divisions/Divisions/SystemsEngineering/D...