BAE Systems heralds major boost to microchip production for the US military

BAE Systems’ investment to modernise its Nashua, New Hampshire-based Microelectronics Center (MEC), supported in part by the US government’s 2022 CHIPS and Science Act, will purchase new, more efficient manufacturing tools to significantly increase production capacity, markedly speed delivery and substantially reduce costs for US Department of Defense (DoD) chip production for the US armed forces, BAE Systems announced on 21 August 2025.

The company asserted that the modernisation will unlock major efficiencies in US defence production, serve US warfighters with state-of-the-art technology and yield high returns for the American taxpayer.

BAE Systems’ MEC is a 110,000 ft² (33,528 m²), US 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 defence-centric six-inch (152 mm) gallium arsenide (GaAs) and gallium nitride (GaN) High Electron Mobility Transistor (HEMT) wafer foundries.

“The modernisation 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 stated, adding that its investment “will also create skilled manufacturing jobs, reinforcing an ongoing commitment to investing in American workers”.