Department of War invests $22.1 million to expand radiation testing infrastructure for defense microelectronics

The Department of War announced a $22.1 million, 24-month contract to Michigan State University in East Lansing, Trusted Strategic Solutions LLC in Sacramento, and Nucleon in Atlanta to expand domestic radiation testing infrastructure for qualifying radiation-hardened microelectronics. The three awardees are members of the National Center for Manufacturing Sciences Consortium, and the effort is funded through the Assistant Secretary of War for Industrial Base Policy’s Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment program.

“This strategic partnership delivers a crucial capability for our national security and defense readiness,” said Assistant Secretary of War for Industrial Base Policy, the Honorable Michael Cadenazzi. “By expanding our domestic radiation test infrastructure at Michigan State University’s Facility for Rare Isotope Beams, we are securing a critical testing pipeline for radiation-hardened microelectronics and ensuring the resilience of our most advanced defense systems.”

The investment is intended to boost domestic access to high-energy heavy ion beam single event effects testing, a step positioned to reinforce the resilience of advanced defense systems.

Under the Optimized Radiation Beam Infrastructure for Testing Systems (ORBITS) project, the team will build a dedicated SEE testing beamline and experimental end-station connected to Linear Accelerator Segment 3 at the superconducting radiofrequency Facility for Rare Isotope Beams at Michigan State University. Once operating, the facility is expected to offer up to 2,000 hours of SEE testing each year. Its beam capabilities are designed to exceed current domestic offerings, with heavy ions reaching up to 150 MeV/u and light ions up to 300 MeV/u.

Since 2014, the Office of Industrial Base Policy has invested more than $5.1 billion across 219 projects through the IBAS program to strengthen the defense industrial base. IBAS supports efforts to analyze industrial base needs, close critical gaps, add new capabilities, and secure capacity in partnership with industry.

The Office of the Assistant Secretary of War for Industrial Base Policy works with domestic and international partners to build and sustain a robust, secure, and resilient industrial base in support of the warfighter. Its Warfighting Investments, Resourcing, and Execution office, which manages IBAS and Defense Production Act purchases, provides capabilities aligned with the strategic aims of the 2026 National Defense Strategy and presidential executive orders that call for a strong, resilient, responsive, and healthy national industrial base.

For more information on the Office of Industrial Base Policy, visit: https://www.businessdefense.gov/ibr/.