Defense Electronics Consortium launches with U.S. DoD award
NewsFebruary 22, 2021
SUMMERVILLE, S.C. Research and development firm Advanced Technology International (ATI) and the U.S. Partnership for Assured Electronics (UPSAE) have created what they call the Defense Electronics Consortium (DEC), an alliance between leading industry and academia experts in the U.S. with the mission of helping the government identify challenges, needs, and opportunities in defense electronics.
Under the terms of the partnership, USPAE received a $42 million award from the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), set to be distributed over a period of five to seven years; the initial project tackled by the DEC will be the "Lead (Pb)-Free Defense Electronics Project," which is aimed at examining the reasons why commercial electronics manufacturers have shifted to using lead-free technology and addressing the concerns related to supply and access to new technologies. This lead-free project will contain a major role for academia: Purdue University, the University of Maryland, Auburn University, and Binghamton University are lending their resources and expertise on the project.
Chris Van Metre, CEO and president of ATI, said of the consortium: "We're so proud to form the Defense Electronics Consortium with our friends and partners at USPAE, who share our vision of achieving innovation through collaboration. The collective DEC team has the deep industry knowledge, innovative research capabilities, and leading-edge facilities required to strengthen the U.S. defense electronics base."
